


Touch the Sky

by AngstyThermostat



Category: Storm Hawks (Cartoon)
Genre: Aerrow - Freeform, Awkward Flirting, Best Friends, Cutesy, Developing Relationship, Drama & Romance, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fantasy, Fear of Flying, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Flying, Gen, Kidnapping, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Love Triangles, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Near Death Experiences, No Underage Sex, Not Actually Unrequited Love, OTP Feels, Piper - Freeform, Ratings: PG, Side Couple is Cuter, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Storm Hawks - Freeform, Teen Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unrequited Love, finn - Freeform, starling - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26123590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstyThermostat/pseuds/AngstyThermostat
Summary: When Aerrow is on a Skyknight mission with Starling, he runs into Zeidah (Zay-duh), a civilian girl who could almost pass for his twin. Zeidah, surprises him with her skills and helps them on the mission, so Aerrow promises Zeidah the chance to meet a "real" Skyknight Squadron. Before he realizes it, Aerrow's breaking his rule of "no honorary Storm Hawks members." Not long after, rumors are flying, hormones are rushing, feelings are emerging, and not everyone is happy about it. As Aerrow grows closer to Starling, his best friend Piper notices him slipping away from their team. With their friendship about to crumble, there's only one thing that could bring the Storm Hawks back together...and their enemies might just have the key.
Relationships: Aerrow/Piper (Storm Hawks), Aerrow/Starling (Storm Hawks), Finn (Storm Hawks)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. A New Mission

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted to Wattpad under my account, Emi427. To avoid any confusion (and possible accusations of plagiarism), please refer to my Emi427 profile on Wattpad for confirmation that I am the original author and chose to share this story over multiple platforms.

Everyone had his or her own favorite spots on the _Condor_. Stork liked the helm the best, since he could see danger coming from one hundred and eighty degrees around him, and he could be close to the distress radio. Finn preferred the kitchen, for obvious reasons. Piper liked both the main deck, where they made their most important decisions as a team, and her crystal lab, where she could escape the boys and be herself without anyone teasing her or bothering her. Junko liked to find solitude in his room, and it was common courtesy among his fellow team members to never barge in unnanounced. There isn’t much in Atmos scarier than a startled Wallop.

As for Aerrow, he could be almost anywhere on the ship at any time, and never in a conventional spot. On this particular morning, Piper found him at the end of the runway on the _Condor_ , dangling his long, spindly legs over the edge. He was twirling one of his twin blades around in his hands. The red leather on the handle was worn down and the thick serrated blade, was scratched so much, Piper wasn’t sure what was an intentional line of paint, and what was a line earned in battle.

“Starling radioed us this morning asking for a favor,” Piper said, taking a seat on the edge next to him. The Skyknight nodded once, clearly not startled by his friend’s sudden appearance. Piper wasn’t surprised, either. It was pretty hard to sneak up on Aerrow. 

“Starling?” he replied, as if he wasn’t sure he heard her name right. He tried not to look so excited. He admired Starling for her virtual fearlessness, her skills as a spy, and—although he'd never admit it out loud—her looks.

“She needs us to get her some chroma crystals for a mission,” Piper explained, pushing the image of Starling’s face out of Aerrow’s mind. His thick brows furrowed on his pale forehead.

“Why would she need a chroma crystal to disguise herself? Starling is the top when it comes to disguises.”

“I don’t know; maybe they’re for all of us. Anyways, I was going to go off and get her a crate. Want to tag along?”

“You read my mind. Let’s fly.”

***

The two of them walked to the main deck, where they found Stork reading one of his poetry books. His thin, pointed ears stood straight up like a rabbit’s when the two humans entered the space.

“Stork, Piper and I are going out to run some errands,” Aerrow announced. “You're in charge 'til we get back.” Stork put down his book and gave Aerrow a _you've-got-to-be-kidding-me_ look.

“You're putting me in charge of those two rotten--”

“Finn and Junko will be nice, we promise,” Piper said. “Tell them I'll make them a special desert tonight at dinner if they behave.” Stork’s scowl didn’t suggest he was convinced.

“Fine. But, If we get attacked, I'm surrendering and jumping in the Wastelands,” Stork said. Aerrow and Piper exchanged a nervous glance.

***

After Aerrow found Radarr munching on leftovers from breakfast in the kitchen, the two teens and co-pilot launched off the runway into the air. The sky was a beautiful pale blue color blanketed with golden clouds. As they passed lush terras, the fauna on some of them looked especially green in the sunlight. Other than a light breeze, flying conditions were perfect.

That's just the way Aerrow liked to fly. He revved up his skimmer, shot forward through the sky, and did a barrel roll through a cloud. Behind the driver, in his co-pilot seat, Radarr, squealed in fear. He gripped the handles on his seat with his tiny hands and gave Aerrow a look of disapproval behind his back. When Aerrow looked over his shoulder and saw the look Radarr was giving him, he couldn't help but laugh.

“Aw, come on buddy,” Aerrow coaxed him. “We drive like this all the time when we fight Talons. You love it. Admit it.” Radarr growled and Aerrow laughed again. “Okay, this time, I'll warn you to hold on. Radarr, hold on!” Aerrow maneuvered the skimmer into a dangerous tailspin, and his furry companion squealed again.

Most Skyknights frowned upon the way Aerrow flew. He was careless and dangerous, whipping around and flipping upside-down all over the place. Some people just called him immature, but Aerrow didn't care. There was nothing like the feeling of going as fast as you could through the sky. Flying didn't just run through his veins; it was in his heart, too.

“Aerrow, come on, stop goofing off,” Piper said, stifling a laugh. “Can’t you just fly normal?”Aerrow pulled his skimmer out of the tailspin and cruised forward. He shrugged and gave Piper a grin.

“Where's the fun in flying in a straight line?”

“Come on, Aerrow.”

“What--you wanna go? Come at me.”

In a flash, Aerrow jumped up and stood on the wings of his skimmer with his twin blades glowing, causing Radarr to squeal once more.

“Aerrow!” Piper said his name in a scolding tone.

“What?”

“I'm not squalling with you,” Piper said. “We’re on an errand, in case you forgot.” Aerrow laughed and jumped back in the seat of his skimmer.

“Why don't you want to have a little fun?” Aerrow asked. Piper have him a teasing glare. Aerrow smiled back as silly as he could manage, which sent Piper into a fit of giggles.

“You're so cute,” Piper said through her chuckles. As soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly stopped laughing and her cinnamon-colored cheeks turned the color of a sunset. Aerrow blushed too, and the two of them looked away from each other. Radarr made a discouraged chirp.

“I didn't mean it like—“

“I know, I know.”

***

The pair flew on in silence to Terra Krystalis, the center of crystals trade. Piper gathered up a crate of seven chroma crystals, one for each of the Storm Hawks and Starling included. If Starling needed a Chroma crystal to disguise herself, then the rest of the team probably needed one, too.

“What do you think Starling needs these for?" Aerrow asked as they flew back to the ship.

“I don't know, but it must be something dangerous,” Piper said. “I hope she's not planning on doing whatever it is alone.”

“You know Starling. She wouldn't involve us if it wasn’t too dangerous.”

***

When they made it back on the _Condor_ , they found Starling's purple skimmer parked in the hanger bay.

“She's already here,” Piper said as Aerrow lifted the crate of crystals off the back of her heliscooter.

 _BANG!_ The sound echoed from somewhere inside the ship. Aerrow and Piper exchanged a nervous glance again before rushing towards the main deck with Radarr on their heels.

“Hey! That's mine!” Finn's voice echoed through the corridor. Aerrow and Piper arrived at the main deck to find Finn with his hands tied to a chair and Starling holding his crossbow out of his reach.

“She started it!” Junko said, pointing at the purple Skyknight. Starling scowled at him in return.

“No,” said Stork in an exasperated tone. He pointed at Finn. “ _He_ started it.”

“Hey! What did I do?”

“Never mind that,” Starling said, waving her hand. She set Finn’s crossbow on the table and took a step towards Aerrow and Piper. “Piper, do you have the crystals?”

“Yup, be right back,” Piper said. She walked back to the hanger bay. Aerrow leaned against the table and crossed his arms, trying his best to look cool in the presence of his fellow (pretty) Skyknight.

“You have to tell us the story. What did he do?” Aerrow asked, egging Starling on. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, hoping to get to smile, too. He noticed the way the ends of her purple hair brushed against her shoulders when she turned her head. For some reason, the thought of Starling's hair brushing his skin made him tingle, but in an exciting way.

Instead of smiling, Starling rolled her eyes

“I came in here expecting to see all of you, but instead I find Stork and Finn in a heated argument over some cabbages."

“I told you it was Finn's fault,” Stork growled, turning away and crossing his arms in a snooty gesture.

“ _You_ were the one who left those smelly cabbages on the counter all night!” Finn retorted.

“They did smell pretty bad,” Junko added.

“Guys, look, if you can't handle yourselves when Piper isn’t here, then how am I supposed to rely on you when I need you?” Aerrow said.

“Come on, man, you can count on us,” Finn said. “We're always there for you, Buddy!”

Before Aerrow could respond, Piper appeared and hefted the box of crystals onto the table. Starling crept closer as Piper removed the lid. Inside the crate, seven transparent blue crystals roughly the size of an ostrich egg were glowing. Pink streams of crystal covered each crystal, spreading across the surface like veins.

“Thanks for getting these, Piper,” Starling said. She picked three crystals out of the crate and handed two to Aerrow. His bright red hair changed to light brown and his blue and red clothes faded to a sandy tan. Starling's hair instantly turned a light blue and her purple and gold uniform faded to a sand color.

“Some Cyclonians have captured the Skyknights of Terra Sahar and they're holding them captive in the desert,” Starling said explained. “And from the looks of it, they've set up some sort of sand-storm machine to keep the other Skyknights from rescuing them.”

“Sand? Pfft. Bring it on,” Finn said, still wiggling in his bindings.

“I think you're missing the part about it being a _storm_ , Finn,” Piper corrected him.

“She's right,” Aerrow said. “This isn't going to be easy.”

“We’ll have to keep a low profile,” Starling explained. “Aerrow and Radarr will come with me on the ground, and the rest of you can stand by in the sky as backup.”

“Oh,” Piper said, trying to mask her disappointment. Starling noticed Piper’s emotions and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I would take all of you if I could, But I only need one more to do the work on the ground. Radarr is just a bonus.”

“Look at it this way Piper,” Aerrow said, nudging her arm with his elbow. “Someone's gotta keep Finn in line!” Piper gave him a smile she hoped looked satisfying. Finn was less thrilled about the situation.

“Hey, I can take care of myself! Speaking of which... can someone untie me from this chair?”

“Let’s go, Aerrow,” Starling said. Piper watched the two of them walk out the door. An unsettling feeling was starting to twist around in her stomach. She took off after the Skyknights and stopped Aerrow before he mounted his skimmer. Aerrow's striking emerald eyes glanced from Piper to Starling and back. Piper felt her stomach do a flip when Aerrow met her eyes. She didn’t like how anxious his eyes were making her feel.

“Please be careful,” Piper said softly, almost like a plea. “There could be talons all over the place, so you have to be on alert, and—“

“I promise; I’ll be fine,” Aerrow said, holding out his pinky. He and Piper had been sealing promises with their pinky fingers since they met in the orphanage six years ago.

Aerrow zoomed out of the hanger bay. Piper watched the wings of his skimmer unfold as he reached the end of the runway. She tried to stop herself, but she let out a loud sigh. She watched Aerrow and Starling fly away until their skimmers were tiny dots in the sky.


	2. The Red-Haired Girl

The wind blew through Aerrow's (now brown) hair, sending those familiar chills through his veins. Flying was the next best thing to a victory. The air was like a warm blanket as it whipped past his face. There was just something about being up in the air that made Aerrow feel like he was free.

Beside Aerrow, Radarr rode in his co-pilot seat, The chroma crystal had turned his fur a bright orange. It reminded Aerrow of Piper's auburn eyes.

_Is she okay? She seemed kind of upset she couldn't go with us. Nah; she’ll be fine. She’s good at backing us up. She does it all the time._

“You said Cyclonians captured the Skyknights,” Aerrow said to Starling. “Which Cyclonians... to be exact?” Aerrow needed to know what he was up against. If it was just a bunch of Talons, then he might as well call it a tea party. If the capture and sand storm was the work of the Dark Ace... that meant things got personal.

“Ravess,” Starling replied. Aerrow was a little worried to hear the name of a commanding officer of the Cyclonian army, but he’d bested her before, so he wasn’t too worried. He hoped his face didn’t show any sign of fear.

“Pfft, easy as cake,” he said.

“She's expecting other Skyknights to come to their rescue,” Starling explained. “That’s why she built some kind of machine that could generate massive sand storms to either destroy them or to scare them away.”

“And we're the ones that won't get blown away,” Aerrow said with a smirk on his face.

“Or scared,” Starling added. Aerrow continued to smile until he felt his face getting warm. He glanced away, keeping his eyes towards the sky ahead of him. He hoped Starling hadn’t noticed.

***

Soon, the bright orange sands of the Saharian desert rose through the clouds. The terra grew bigger and bigger as Aerrow and Starling flew closer. They landed in the desert near the Bizarre, a large outdoor shopping place, much like a farmers market. Starling explained her plan to Aerrow, then snuck off into the desert.

“Ready Radarr?” he asked. Radarr grinned and gave him an optimistic chirp. Aerrow was grateful to see his pal so excited to be on a mission.

The Skyknight stepped out from behind the rock, but Radarr kept himself hidden. They crept closer to the crowded streets of the famous Sahar Bizarre.

“Radarr, what're you doing?” Aerrow asked. Radarr jumped and squealed. “Nobody knows it's you, Buddy. You don't have to hide.” Radarr looked a little embarrassed as he smiled and crawled out into the open. Aerrow had been paying attention to Radarr and accidentally bumped into someone as he walked.

“Sorry,” he immediately apologized. Aerrow noticed the person's forest green and brick red uniform-- a Cyclonian uniform. The Talon looked at Aerrow, but didn't react as he would if he had seen a Skyknight. He didn't recognize Aerrow with his disguise, so he simply glared and walked away. Aerrow waited until the Talon was out of earshot to let out his breath in relief.

“Talons in the Bizarre. Ravess must be on high alert,” he said to himself. As Aerrow looked out at the Bizarre, he noticed Cyclonian Talons were patrolling up and down the square. Around him, the people walked by without a second glance. His disguise was working well.

“No one has a clue!” Aerrow whispered to Radarr, appreciating their disguises. Aerrow walked carelessly, trying not to look like he was in a hurry. Still, he tried to avoid eye contact with anyone. He wanted to bend in, and he definitely didn't want to draw attention.

Unfortunately for Aerrow, he had a knack for running into people on the street. Two boys about twice his size came out of a tent and collided with the Skyknight, knocking him to the ground. On instinct, Aerrow reached for the blades on his back, but stopped himself. _Don't blow your cover._ The chroma crystal had caused his weapons to turn invisible, along with his armor. He jumped to his feet. Aerrow was tall for his age, but the boys still towered over him. He tried not to show a single trace of fear as they glared at him. He’d seen much scarier people than a duo of strong teen boys.

“What's wrong with you? Can't you see where you’re going?” One of the boys snapped.

“What're you stupid or something?” the other boy asked.

“I'm not stupid; you ran into me,” Aerrow said sternly. His fingers itched to grab his blades. _Don't move._

“Did I hear that right?" the first boy said to the second one. His blonde spiky hair blocked the sun from reaching Aerrow's eyes, but Aerrow still glared at him anyway. The blonde boy grabbed Aerrow by the collar of his shirt and shoved him away, causing Aerrow to stumble and take a few steps back. Luckily, he didn’t fall again. “Listen, String Bean You better apologize, or you won’t have ankles left to walk on.”

“What did you call me?” Aerrow said, struggling to relax his jaw. He stepped towards the boys, which turned out to be a mistake. The blonde boy threw a punch at Aerrow’s face, which he was able to dodge. Radarr growled and latched his teeth onto the blonde boy's arm.

“Gahhh!” he bellowed. The second boy tried to pull Radarr off.

“Let go you stupid sky monkey!” he shouted.

“Don't hurt him!” Aerrow yelled. He pushed the boy away and tackled him to the ground. Aerrow usually won his battles due to his fast reactions and agility. However, a light frame didn't help him in a wrestling match with someone stronger than him. The boy managed to pin Aerrow to the ground, holding his head down so the side of his face was in the dirt.

“You're gonna wish you never messed with me,” the boy said, raising a fist. Just then, a flash of red and purple ran by, pulling the boy off of Aerrow. The boy rolled over onto his back, coughing up dust. Before he could get up, someone had an arrow pointed right at his nose. The archer wore a long red ponytail. Aerrow couldn't see her face very well since it was silhouetted in the sun.

“Let him go and pick on someone your own age!” the archer yelled in a young female voice. She inched the arrow closer and closer to the boy’s nose. The other boy had finally gotten his arm free and Radarr stood on the ground, unharmed. The archer spun around and pointed her arrow at the other boy. “You better believe I’m telling Mom about this!” Both boys stood up and took a few steps away, although they didn’t look scared, just annoyed.

“One day you won't have that toy around to protect you,” the boy who was fighting Aerrow warned. “And when that day comes, you'll be sorry.” The archer stood her ground, making sure the boys were completely around a corner before turning to Aerrow to help him up.

“I’m so sorry about my brothers,” she said, holding out a hand to help Aerrow up. He held onto it and the archer pulled him up. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? My dad is a doctor; I can take you to him if you need help.”

“I had it under control,” Aerrow said, brushing the dust off his pants. “But, thanks, anyways.”

“Oh please, Jeremy was about to knock your teeth out,” the archer replied. Aerrow looked back up at her and caught his breath in a quick gasp. The archer had crimson red hair and emerald eyes. Even with her slightly more tanned skin, she looked exactly like Aerrow. He stared at her, not bothering to mask his shock.

“Hey, you look just like--” Aerrow stopped himself so he wouldn't blow his cover.

“Aerrow, the Skyknight?” the archer guessed. She shrugged. “I get that a lot. So, you got a name?”

“Aerrow,” he said, then regretted it. He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the ground so she couldn't see his face turn scarlet. “I mean, yeah, you do look like him,” he mumbled. The archer laughed.

“I'm Zeidah,” she said, holding out a hand. Aerrow shook it.

“Harold,” he said with hesitation, keeping the name he'd used when he'd pretended to be a Talon trainee at the Talon Academy.

“Well Harold... can I call you Harry?” Zeidah asked.

“Um...”

“Great,” Zeidah said. “Does your pet have a name?” She knelt down to look at Radarr. Radarr growled.

“His name is... uh, Stork, and he's not my pet,” Aerrow said. Radarr growled at him, too.

“Oh, whose is he then?”

“He's my co-- um, he's just my friend.”

“Oh... okay.” Zeidah seemed a little baffled by Aerrow’s response, but she tried to be polite by smiling.

“Hey, how come you know about, uh, Skyknights?" Aerrow asked, struggling to find the right words.

“I read a lot,” Zeidah said. “And I pay attention to the gossip at the Bizzare when there are Skyknights in town. I plan on being a Skyknight myself one day.” Zeidah beamed., and Aerrow examined her more closely. Judging by her exposed arms and legs, she was probably fairly athletic, but he figured she’d need a much better weapon than her handmade bow and stun arrows.

“Oh, well... good luck with that,” he said, suddenly remembering he still had a mission. “Thanks for your help. I’ve got to get going.” He started away, but Zeidah was right on his heels.

“Hey, where you going? Mind if I tag along? I don’t really have—”

“I can't tell you,” Aerrow replied. “It's... um... personal. And no, you can’t come.”

“Oh,” Zeidah said. She stopped walking next to him. “In that case, good luck with your personal thing.”

“Good luck with your Skyknight thing,” Aerrow called over his shoulder. He kept walking, but something in his gut told him his business with Zeidah wasn't finished. After all, she had saved him from her brothers. He figured he at least owed her a thank-you. He turned around and walked back to Zeidah.

“Hey, Zeidah,” he called. She turned around wearing a puzzled expression. Aerrow walked closer and lowered his voice so the Talon's wouldn't hear. “You haven’t noticed anything strange happening on the terra lately, have you? Anything that might explain why there are so many Talons walking around here.” Zeidah studied him with a puzzled expression.

“You didn’t hear? The Third Degree Burners were captured! The Cyclonians moved in not long after. They’re trying to force the Council to set up new laws. The whole thing is a mess. Anyone who tries to leave the terra is immediately captured.” Aerrow noticed how sad she looked as she explained the situation. He figured Zeidah must love her home terra as much as he loved his squadron.

Aerrow checked around him for more Cyclonians before he continued again.

“What if I told you I could fix things?” he said. Zeidah seemed very skeptical of his statement.

“What can you do, Harry? You’re not a Skyknight.”

“Yes I am.” Aerrow continued. Zeidah looked even more disbelieving now.

“Really? What squadron are you from?”

“The… uh…Tornado Falcons,” he said, hoping he didn’t hesitate too long to come up with a fake name.

“Never heard of you.”

“We’re very new.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Six. Now, stop asking questions, or I won’t ask you to help me.”

“Do you think I’m that naive that I can’t pick out a lie when I hear one?” Zeidah started to walk away, but Aerrow grabbed her by the wrist.

“Okay, okay, how about this? I know who took your Skyknights. I can help save them with my squadron. I just need you to lead me to the source of the sand storms.” Zeidah looked hesitant again, but Aerrow could tell she was just weighing her options. If this girl really did want to be a Skyknight, she’d be crazy not to accept his offer.

“I’m in,” she said. “But, if your story doesn’t check out, I will not hesitate to shoot.”

“We can call that a deal,” Aerrow said with a shrug. “So, those sand storms.”

“I know a shortcut to get you to a place where you can see it safely from far away,” Zeidah said. She grabbed Aerrow's wrist and pulled him towards the fruit stands. They slipped between two stands, annd Aerrow occasionally glaned behind them to make sure no one was following them. They climbed over rocks as large as houses. The blazing sun was burning the back of Aerrow's neck, but Zeidah was used to the heat and paid no mind. The sweltering weather made it harder for Radarr to keep up with the two. Aerrow eventually scooped him up onto his shoulder.

“Here we are,” Zeidah said, holding an arm out to gesture towards the desert. The rocky landscape had dissolved to nothing but fine sand. Not too far from where they stood, a large crack in the ground's surface cut through the sand, like it had been made by an earthquake. The canyon was so big that four _Condors_ would easily fit in between the walls. Dust rose from the canyon in massive clouds, like steam from a boiling pot of water.

“Great job," Aerrow said. He crouched behind a large rock. Radarr joined him. Zeidah, however, started walking straight towards the canyon.

“Wait!” Aerrow said. He grabbed Zeidah's wrist and pulled her back. “We can't just stroll right out there.”

“Why not?”

Aerrow pointed to the sky. Talons were swarming around the canyon. “See that?”

“It looks like a bunch of Skyknight skimmers,” Zeidah said.

“Those are Talons, the farthest thing from a Skyknight. The Burners must be here." Zeidah watched the Talons fly for a moment.

“How do we get around them?”


	3. A Perfect Plan

Zeidah and Aerrow both looked up to the sky. Talons were swarming up above on skimmers. On land, there were just as many standing guard. Zeidah smirked and walked out from behind the rock.

“I’ve got this. Follow my lead,” she said. Aerrow watched her spin around and hold and arrow to his forehead, right between his brows. He could feel the heat from the crystal against his skin.

“What're you doing!?” Aerrow said. He pulled out his blades and switched them on. They glowed an eerie light blue. Zeidah looked a bit startled at Aerrow's weapons, since he pulled them out of thin air, but she kept her arrow pointed at him.

“Fight me,” she said. Her voice was serious. Aerrow put his swords away.

“No, I don't think that will...”

“If you’re really a Skyknight, you’d trust me, and go along with my plan. You might be able to beat me if you fight me. Or, are you chicken?” Zeidah challenged. Aerrow narrowed his eyes, but his lips turned up in a smirk.

“I'm no chicken.” He whipped out his blades again, and jumped up on the rock and pointed a blade at Zeidah. She stepped back, but kept her arrow pointed at Aerrow. Then, she fired a shot. Aerrow quickly hopped off the rock to dodge her arrow. When he looked up, Zeidah was running towards the canyon.

“Hey, wait up!” Aerrow said, scrambling to his feet and running after her. Zeidah was a fast runner, but Aerrow was, too. When Zeidah was closer to the canyon, she turned around and fired another arrow at Aerrow. He tucked and rolled, then jumped up and fired a blast from his sword. Radarr ran after them, staying out of the line of fire.

“You can't beat me, Harry!” Zeidah yelled over her shoulder.

“Oh, we'll see about that,” Aerrow said. He was so involved in the battle that he forgot he was supposed to be hiding.

“Halt!” a Talon said, stopping Zeidah in her tracks. He pointed his spear at her chest, and she immediately dropped her bow and the arrow she had in her hand. “What're you kids doing here?” Aerrow quickly hid his blades on his back and bumped into Zeidah, knocking himself to the ground again. A second Talon pointed a spear at him and he held up his empty hands. He hoped they hadn’t seen his weapons.

“He asked you a question,” the Talon who was pointing a staff at Aerrow said to Zeidah. Aerrow opened his mouth to speak, but Zeidah cut him off.

“Oh, we're just, um...” Zeidah searched for words with her shaky voice. She motioned to Aerrow. “…playing Skyknight.”

“The canyon is off guards,” the Talon explained.

“Oh, that's too bad,” Zeidah said. Aerrow wasn't quite sure what to do, but he did know that a civilian would not be safe near a Talon. Whatever her plan was, this couldn’t be it. He had to get her out of here. He noticed her bow on the ground right next to him, and her discarded arrow within arm’s reach. All he needed was a distraction.

“What’s that sky monkey doing here?” one of the Talons asked.

“He’s my pet,” Aerrow said. He winked at Radarr. “And he likes the taste of Cyclonians.” Radarr understood Aerrow’s message, and sunk his teeth in the ankle of the Talon pinning Aerrow down. The other Talon lowered his weapon slightly, his attention turned on the small creature instead of the two teens. Aerrow had merely seconds to grab Zeidah’s bow and arrow, jump to his feet, and hand them to her. She gripped the weapons with shaky hands.

“What’s happening!?” she asked, sounding panicked. Aerrow, who was used to hearing panic from his squadron, consoled her the best way he knew—with a grin and excitement.

“New plan,” he said, unsheathing his blades again. "Hit 'em with all we've got!”

Aerrow charged at a group of Talons running towards them and easily knocked a few of them off balance. Zeidah hesitated, watching the Skyknight fight, until some Talons started firing at her and she was forced to fire back.

Radarr trailed after the teens and fought by hurling small rocks at the Talons or biting them. Some of the Talons in the sky started firing at the ground, forcing Zeidah to back up towards the edge of the canyon. Aerrow saw her just as she took a step back and her foot slipped.

He grabbed Radarr by the scruff of his neck and jumped after Zeidah, catching her wrist and popping open his glider wings to slow their fall. Aerrow made a rocky landing at the base of the Canyon. Zeidah was so surprised by the midair rescue that she was left speechless. She gripped her bow closer to herself. Aerrow moved to stand up, but a blast from a Talon's staff zoomed past his ear, sending him back to the ground.

“The danger's not over yet!” Aerrow said, turning around to see Talons coming at him from both sides.

“This is where we run, yeah?” Zeidah said. The trio took off running in the opposite direction of the Talons. They dodged blasts and falling rocks. Soon, they came to a tunnel in the wall. Zeidah ran into it, probably trying to keep hidden. But Aerrow knew better.

“No! That's—“ before he could finish, Talons stopped Zeidah in the tunnel and grabbed her. She tried wiggling free, but the Talons had a good hold on her. Aerrow ran to her aide, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the Talons that had been chasing them were blocking the exit. They were trapped. The Talons tried to grab Aerrow, but with a few kicks and punches, he was able to fight them off.

“Get off me!” Zeidah growled as she writhed about like a fish out of water. 

Suddenly, a small metal ball with yellow crystals embedded in it bounced between the legs of the Talons at the entrance. Aerrow had seen that weapon before.

“Zeidah, close your eyes!” he warned. The ball exploded, sending a bright yellow blast through the tunnel. All of the Talons at the entrance fell unconscious. On the other end, a light-blue-haired person stood, holding a pair of purple glowing nunchuks in their hand.

“Starling.” Aerrow said her name in relief, but the Talons blocking the entrance didn’t give him time to relax. The bright light hadn’t knocked out all of them.

Aerrow switched on his blades again, and joined Starling in fighting the Talons. Zeidah was able to free herself and helped by shooting arrows. Aerrow was surprised at how well Zeidah fought. She wasn't as good as him or Starling, but she held her ground against the Talons.

Once they had overcome their enemies, Starling, Aerrow, Zeidah, and Radarr ventured farther into the tunnel.

“Who's the friend?” Starling asked. Aerrow looked at Zeidah.

“I'm Zeidah,” she said. “Are you part of Harry’s squadron?” Starling glared at Aerrow in cpnfusion. He winced, as if her glare was causing him pain.

“Yes, I am,” Starling said, trying to hold back from scolding Aerrow. He’d have a lot of explaining to do later if they survived.

The ceiling of the tunnel slowly rose and the walls grew farther apart as they walked. Pretty soon, the group found themselves in a large open space under the canyon. They hid in a niche in the wall, out o the line of sight of the Talons. Ravess stood off to the corner, bow in hand, overseeing everything. A large metal machine rose in the center of the room all the way up to the hundred-foot ceiling, and out a small hole at the top. On the other side of the room, Blister, Burner, and the other Saharian Skyknights were stuck in a cage resembling a jail cell.

“How are we supposed to get around the guards?” Zeidah asked.

“Starlings got a plan,” Aerrow said, watching Starling's concentration. She waited until two Talons walked past them, then quickly pulled them away and knocked them unconscious.

“You might want to put this on,” she said, handing Aerrow a Cyclonian uniform.

“What about me?” Zeidah asked as Starling and Aerrow put on their disguises.

“You're the prisoner,” Aerrow said, picking up the crystal staff from the ground.

“What!?”

“You want to be a Skyknight? Learn how to be a spy,” Aerrow said. He grabbed Zeidah's hands and pulled them behind her back. The two Skyknights and the civilian walked towards the jail cell. Radarr followed closely behind.

“What are you doing!?” Zeidah said. She struggled against Aerrow's grip, but he held onto her wrists firmly. “You're not seriously going to throw me in there, are you?”

“No,” Aerrow whispered as Ravess noticed them and stalked towards them. “Just pretend you never met me, and you’ll be fine.”

“What do we have here?” she asked with her hands on her hips. Her bright magenta hair and golden eyes gave her a fierce appearance. She was truly one of Aerrow's least-favorite people, but he tried not to let his disgust show through his expression

“A little girl was snooping around the canyon,” Starling answered without missing a beat. “If we set her free, she threatened to tell everyone what's going on down here.”

“Put her with the Skyknights," Ravess said, waving he hand as she turned away. “I want everyone on high alert! If a child can sneak into this Canyon, so could a Skyknight!”

“Now?” Aerrow asked Starling. Starling pulled off her red goggles.

“Now,” she whispered. Aerrow released Zeidah and dropped his chroma crystal. He looked up to see his normal red bangs in his line of sight, then down to see a blue Radarr at his side. He watched Starling's Cyclonian uniform turn back into her Skyknight uniform. Aerrow then glanced at Zeidah, who stared at him in shock, and gave her a pathetic grin.

“You're absolutely right Ravess,” Starling said. Ravess and the Talons turned towards her voice. The look on Ravess’ face almost made Aerrow snicker. “Your security could easily let in a Skyknight-- or two.” Within seconds, Ravess had an arrow notched in her bow, and Starling was charging towards her, nunchuks glowing purple. As Starling and Ravess went at each other, Aerrow defended himself from the Talons. He could see Zeidah watching him from the corner of his eye, still frozen in place.

“Zeidah—move!” Aerrow commanded as Talons closed in on her. She ran off near the wall of the cave, avoiding blasts from the Talons as she ran for the imprisoned Skyknights. Aerrow followed, leaving unconscious Talons in his wake.

Suddenly, there was a loud creaking noise from behind him. Something had slashed the storm machine, and now, it was falling down. Aerrow ran over and cut the lock off the Skyknight's prison with his blades.

“Take her and get yourselves out of here; Starling and I will cover you!” he told the Skyknights as he gestured to Zeidah. He let the Skyknights and Zeidah run ahead of him towards the exit tunnel. Aerrow saw the Talons and Ravess escaping ahead of them. He glanced behind his shoulder as he ran down the tunnel. Radarr was at his heels. But Starling was nowhere in sight.

“Starling!” he yelled, coming to a screeching halt on his heels. He ran back towards the cavern. Rocks were crumbling around him and the walls were shaking. A large rock landed right in front of him, blocking his path. Someone grabbed his wrist.

“Come on!” Zeidah said, pulling on his arm. Aerrow glanced behind him again, hoping to see Starling. As they made it out of the tunnel, Aerrow looked up to see the Talons flying away on their skimmers. He looked back at the tunnel. Dust billowed out into the canyon. He could hear rocks settling. But there was no sign of Starling.


	4. An Invitation

Aerrow wasn’t sure how long he stared at the tunnel entrance when he suddenly felt something squirming in his hand. It was Zeidah, trying to get her arm free.

“Sorry,” Aerrow said, releasing his grip. He hadn't realized how tense he was. Then, he saw a figure walking through the dust. When the dust began to clear, he recognized purple hair and armor.

“Starling!” he said, running over to her. Starling walked wearily through the dust, like she was back from a long run. Aerrow threw her arm over his shoulder and helped her away from the tunnel. He hugged her tight. “I was worried you wouldn't make it out.”

“Uh, Aerrow,” Starling said in a scratchy voice. Aerrow wouldn't let go of her, so Starling pushed him away. “It's ok, I'm fine.”

“Oh, sorry,” Aerrow said. His face turned as red as his hair. He looked down at his feet, expecting to see Radarr there, but he was a few feet back, standing next to Zeidah, who didn't look so excited anymore.

“Hey, thanks for your help,” Aerrow said as he walked over to her. Zeidah notched and arrow and pointed it at Aerow, stopping him in his tracks. Starling appeared a step in front of Aerrow, blocking him with her weapons raised. She quickly knocked the arrow away.

“Why did you lie to me?” Zeidah demanded. Her voice shook, like she was unsure she actually wanted to say the words. Aerrow could see her arms shaking, too.

“I was in disguise; I couldn’t blow my cover with all those Talons around.” Zeidah studied him for a few extra seconds before she let out a sigh. Aerrow watched as the serious expression on her face quickly turned into an excited one. She held a hand to her forehead and grinnned.

“I can’t believe I got to fight Cyclonia with two Skyknights."

“That was a quick change in character,” Starling mumbled, switching her nunchuks off.

“Yeah, you were great, and you saved your Terra,” Aerrow said, motioning towards the Third Degree Burners that still stood protectively a few feet behind Zeidah. She blushed.

“Yeah, sorry if I caused you any trouble.”

“Are you kidding me?” Aerrow said. “The way you helped fight off those Talons? And you came up with your own battle plans! You'd make an awesome Skyknight one day.” Zeidah grinned at the ground.

“I guess this is goodbye, then," she mumbled, digging a rut in the dirt with the toe of her boot. Aerrow felt a wave of guilt wash over him. She was willing to sacrifice her safety, and even her life, to help him. What could he do to possibly repay her?

“You wanna…meet the rest of my squadron?” he asked. When Zeidah looked up, he added, “The real one.” Her face lit up.

“No way! Really!?” Zeidah asked. “Oh my gosh. This is so amazing!” She couldn't stop smiling. Zeidah embraced Aerrow so tightly he had to gasp for air. “Oops! Sorry.”

“Come on, I've got something to show you,” Aerrow said. They made our way out of the canyon and back to where he and Starling hid their skimmers. When Zeidah saw the vehicles, she was in awe.

“Wow, this is your skimmer?” she said.

“Of course,” Aerrow replied, settling himself on his seat. “Every Skyknight has a cool ride.” Out of the corner of his eye, Aerrow saw Starling mounting her skimmer and starting it up. Radarr hoped up into his seat just as Aerrow started the engine. He smiled at Zeidah. “Well, are you coming or not?” She cautiously climbed onto the seat behind him. Aerrow could feel her hands shaking as she gripped his shoulders.

“You might want to hold on to my waist for this part,” Aerrow said with a smirk. He revved the engine and then they were off, speeding towards the edge of the terra. Zeidah wrapped her arms tightly around Aerrow's waist, holding on for her life. As soon as the back tire left the ground, Aerrow popped the wings open. Zeidah yelped and dug her nails into Aerrow's shirt. She hid her face in his back.

“What’re you scared for? We’re flying,” Aerrow said over his shoulder. Zeidah looked up at him with a grim expression.

“It's just that I've never...” she looked down at the clouds bellow her and gasped. Terra Sahar grew smaller in the distance. “Oh my gosh! This is high!” She gripped Aerrow tighter and hid her face again.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Aerrow asked in a concerned voice.

“No, I've…never flown before,” Zeidah answered.

“Oh. Don’t worry; you'll get used to it. You’re with one of the greatest pilots in all of Atmos," Aerrow said.

“Are you ever scared of falling?” Zeidah asked.

“Nope. When you're in control, you're not really likely to fall,” Aerrow said. “I hardly ever stay on my skimmer, anyway. You know how I fight my battles? I like to get all up in their faces.”

“Wait, you mean you fight in the sky?” Zeidah asked.

“Sure, all the time.”

“ _While_ you're flying!?”

“Of course. What other way is there?”

“Um, the ground, for starters,” Zeidah said. Aerrow laughed.

“Where’s the fun in that?” He gripped the handles of his skimmer. “Speaking of which, you might want to hold on.” He jerked the controls of his skimmer and the skyride did a barrel roll. Zeidah buried her face into Aerrow's back and squeezed him around the middle.

“Ok you can let go now,” he said, gasping for air.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, releasing her grip on Aerrow. “Um, can we stay right-side-up from now on?” Aerrow laughed again.

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “We're almost there, anyways.” He glanced at Starling riding nearby. She seemed a little confused that Zeidah was with them. Aerrow didn't understand it. Zeidah was just a girl; it's not like she was a Cyclonian spy. There wasn’t a reason not to trust her. She already proved herself.

Aerrow caught Starling's eye and shot her a grin. Starling's concentrated expression didn't change.

Soon, the _Condor's_ pontoons emerged from behind a cloud. Aerrow didn't think Zeidah's face could possibly light up more.

“Oh my gosh. It's the _Condor_ , for real,” Zeidah said. Aerrow smiled at her admiration as he steered closer. He landed on the _Condor's_ runway seconds before Starling landed. Aerrow dismounted his skimmer and watched Zeidah as she carefully stepped onto the runway like it was sacred ground. She looked down at the runway, then up at the large ship a hundred feet away. She was completely awestruck, clearly intimidated by the ship's massive size. 

Finn suddenly came running out of the hanger bay.

"Aerrow! Ah, glad you're back. Junko just got a..." Finn trailed off, his eyes now on Zeidah. He smirked and puffed out his chest. "Dude, you didn't tell me you had a sister."

"I don't," Aerrow said. "This is Zeidah. She helped me and Starling out, so I'm letting her check out the ship." Finn was only half-listening to Aerrow. He was staring at Zeidah with a curious look.

"You must be Finn," she said. "The sharp-shooter." Finn almost stumbled over.

"She called me the sharp-shooter!" he said to Aerrow with a wide grin. "That's..." Finn smoothed his blond hair back and gave Zeidah more of a seductive smile. "That's cool." He shook Zeidah's hand and she giggled.

"Uh, Finn, what was it you were saying about Junko?" Aerrow asked. Radarr jumped up onto his shoulder as he and Starling began to wheel their skimmers back to the hanger. Finn finally tore his eyes away from Zeidah.

"Oh! Right. Um... Junko got a note from Wallop saying he had an arranged marriage to go to." Aerrow stopped in his tracks.

"Junko's getting married!?"

"No, no, it's like his second cousin or something," Finn said. Zeidah giggled. Finn glanced back at her and she looked away, her face turning pink.

"Figures," Aerrow muttered. He parked his skimmer next to Piper's heliscooter and headed for the door. He turned to Zeidah.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone else," he said. Finn jumped in front of Aerrow.

"Hey, why don't I...uh, show her around?" he asked. "Since, y'know, you and Starling probably have important Skyknight stuff to discuss."

"Well, if you're going to give a grand tour, I must be on my way," Starling said. Aerrow turned to look at her.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" he asked, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"I've got places to go," Starling said. She walked over and squeezed Aerrow's shoulder. "Thanks for the help today." she turned and gave Zeidah a smile. "You too, Zeidah. It was nice working with you."

"It was nice meeting you," Zeidah said. Starling hopped on her skimmer and sped off. Aerrow watched her go.

"Uh, um," Finn coughed. Aerrow blinked and looked at him.

"What?" he said.

"Shall we?" Zeidah asked.

"Oh, right," Aerrow said. "Let's go." 

He led Zeidah and Finn through the door and down the hallway to the main deck. Piper and Junko were on the couch, reading over what must be Junko's wedding invitation. Stork stood by the controls, spraying the handles with a strange cleaning concoction he probably created himself. Piper and Junko looked up when the door opened.

"Aerrow, you're back! Just in time," Piper said as she popped off the couch. She started walking towards him, but stopped when she saw Zeidah. Her joyful expression turned bewildered as she stared at the new stranger. Zeidah could feel her face getting hot.

"Piper, this is Zeidah," Aerrow said.

"Hi," Junko waved from the couch. Zeidah waved back.

"Can you believe it? Aerrow's got a long-lost twin!" Finn said, putting his hands on Zeidah's shoulders.

"She's not my twin," Aerrow said, rolling his eyes. "She's a friend."

"Oh," Piper said, maybe to happily. She held out her hand. "Um, nice to meet you Zeidah. I'm Piper." Zeidah's smile spread across her face as she shook Piper's hand.

"I know," she said. "I've heard all about you. You're great with maps and crystals. I've tried to do a few things with crystals myself, but things don'talways turn out...right." Piper seemed to cheer up instantly.

"Oh, well maybe I could help you out sometime," she said.

"Really?" Zeidah asked. "That would be awesome!" Aerrow herded Zeidah over to Stork, who didn't look excited about a stranger getting too close.

"And this is our amazing carrier pilot, Stork," Aerrow said. Stork jumped away from Zeidah like she was a danger to his health, and observed her with large, yellow eyes through a curtain of long, black hair. Zeidah smiled and held out her hand for him to shake it, but thought better of it.

"Just... don't touch anything," Stork mumbled.

"Uh, Aerrow, can I talk to you about something?" Junko asked, poking a large wallop-finger into Aerrow's wiry shoulder.

"Oh, sure, Junko," Aerrow said, turning to face his friend. Junko is a Wallop, a creature that looked a lot like a rhinoceros and was known for being extremely aggressive. Junko, on the contrary, was anything but aggressive.

"Well, um, I got an invitation from my uncle to my second-cousin's wedding," Junko said, giving Aerrow the invitation. Aerrow skimmed over it.

"Wait a second... why does it say the seventeenth to the fourteenth?" Aerrow asked. Junko twiddled his fingers.

"Well that's the thing," he said in a timid voice. "Weddings on Terra Wallop usually last a month." The invitation fell out of Aerrow's hands and fluttered to the floor.

"A month!?" Aerrow gasped. "Junko, you can't leave for a month, we need you!"

"You guys will be fine without me," Junko said. "You can call on Starling, or another squadron if you need help."

"Yeah, but, you're part of this team," Aerrow said. "You can't just...leave."

"He's coming back," Finn pointed out.

"You guys don't understand," Junko said. "Marriage is sacred to Wallops. When two families are joined, it's like the party of the century. The whole Terra celebrates. I _have_ to go. If not, I'll be shamed by my entire family." Aerrow could sense the worry in his friend's voice.

"We'll figure something out," he said with a sigh.


	5. Equal Challengers

It may have been the tension building in the room, or, it may have just been Finn being Finn, but the sharp-shooter started laughing hysterically. Everyone, including Zeidah, looked at him as if he'd been infected by something.

"I've got it!" Finn said when he caught his breath. He dashed over next to Zeidah and put a hand around Zeidah's shoulders. "We could let Zeidah stay. She can take Junko's place in our squadron while he's gone. Don't you see? It's perfect." Zeidah's face lit up like fireworks.

"Uh, I don't know if that would work," Aerrow said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Aww, come on, we could train her," Finn argued. "Besides, you said she knows how to fight." He wiggled his eyebrows at Zeidah, who blushed and tried to surpress a laugh.

"Hey, remember what I said," Aerrow scolded. "No new members."

"Please Aerrow?" Zeidah asked. "I promise I'll help your squadron. it's always been my dream to be a skyknight." Aerrow glanced at Piper, waiting to hear her opinion.

"I don't see a problem with it," she shrugged.

"Yeah, Aerrow, let Zeidah stay," Junko agreed. "An extra person on the ship is even better than relying on Starling... not that Starling isn't reliable, but...well, you know what I mean."

"She's even got her own weapons," Finn said, holding up Zeidah's bow. Aerrow crossed his arms.

"Finn, Zeidah has to go home. She has family back on Sahar," Aerrow said. "They'll miss her."

"I've ran away a lot; they're used to it," Zeidah shrugged. When she saw Aerrow wasn't going to budge, she tried another approach. "Let me prove myself. I'll fight you... on the ground. You win, I go home. I win, I stay with you guys." She held out her hand. "Is that a deal?" Aerrow was surprisingly hesitant to reply.

"If you're worried about losing, remember--she's not a Skyknight," Piper whispered to Aerrow. He shot Piper a suspicious look before he clamped his hand on Zeidah's and shook it.

"Deal," he said. "Piper, find a flat terra, preferably one where the inhabitants won't mind if we mess things up a bit on accident."

"Already ahead of you," Piper said. "Terra Tundras is completely barren after the Cyclonians stopped mining there."

"Great job, Piper," Aerrow said with a small smile. "Stork, head for the Tundras. Finn--," Aerrow turned to his wingman. "Why don't you show Zeidah around?" Finn and Zeidah both looked like they were going to explode with happiness.

"After you, My Lady," Finn said, beckoning towards the door. Zeidah giggled and they disappeared through the door. No sooner had it slammed shut, Piper began to speak.

"So how'd it go?" she asked, curious about Aerrow and Starling's mission. Aerrow settled himself on the couch and cracked his neck.

"Good," he said casually. "We freed the Skyknights and destroyed Ravess' machine. Ya know; mission accomplished." He smiled widely at Piper. Piper's cinnamon-colored cheeks suddenly turned a rosy pink.

"Great," she said. She sat down on the couch. "And Zeidah came into the picture how, exactly?" 

Aerrow had been leaning back with his arms draped across the back of the couch. He straightened up and brought his hands down to rest on his knees. He briefly described meeting Zeidah, minimizing the part where her brothers had attacked him.

"She sounds like she knows how to fight," Piper said.

"Yeah, she's...something," Aerrow said thoughtfully. "I'm just not sure what."

***

Meanwhile, Finn and Zeidah were making their way down the corridor.

"You do realize Aerrow is, like, the greatest Skyknight in all of Atmos?" Finn asked Zeidah.

"I know," Zeidah said, admiring the hallway. She shrugged and looked at Finn. "But it's worth a shot, if it means I get to spend a month with a real Skyknight squadron, right?" Finn shrugged. He pointed to a locked door.

"There's Stork's room," he said. He pointed to one across the hall. "And that's Junko's room. And over there next to Stork's is Piper's room, and here's my room," Finn said, walking up to the doorway. Inside, Finn's surfboard was propped against the corner. Pictures of guitars and fancy skimmers were taped all over the walls. A pile of dirty clothes inhabited the floor at the end of Finn's bed. It was a messy room, but Zeidah thought it looked homey.

"Nice surfboard," she said. Finn grinned, showing off his bright white teeth.

"Thanks," he said. They continued their tour, ending in the hanger bay.

"What is that?" Zeidah asked, pointing to a four-wheeled vehicle parked in the corner.

"Oh, that's Stork's," Finn explained. "He built it himself. He's got all these safety gadgets built into it." Finn walked over to his skimmer and rubbed a hand over the tan nose. "And this is my baby." Zeidah walked around Finn's skimmer examining it from every angle.

"Nice," she said with her hands on her hips.

"Wanna take it for a spin?" Finn asked. Before Zeidah could answer, Aerrow's voice came over the speaker.

"Guys, come back to the deck," he announced. "We're almost here." Finn tried to hide his disappointment.

"Well," Zeidah said. "Shall we?"

***

When the Condor touched down on Terra Tundras, Zeidah lost her footing and fell on the floor. Finn helped her back up as she tried to hide her red face.

"Are you ok?" he asked with a smile.

"Just... not used to flying," Zeidah said quietly.

"It's ok," Junko said. "You'll get used to it."

"Come on guys," Aerrow said, leading the way to the hanger bay. He grabbed his twin blades from the wall and quickly switched them on to check if they were working properly. He swung them over his back and walked out into the sunshine. Piper rolled her eyes and muttered to Zeidah, "He just doesn't want to get embarassed by a weapons malfunction." 

The late afternoon sun was hanging high in the sky. The clouds were more prominent over Terra Tundras than they were in Terra Sahar's quadrant.

"Ok, I guess we'll just do best two out of three?" Aerrow said. His statement sounded like a question. Zeidah adjusted her quiver strap on her shoulder.

"That's how many I was planning on winning." 

Aerrow didn't flinch at her threat. Instead, he held out his hand for Zeidah to shake it. She did, never breaking eye contact with him. The two opponents backed away from each other like they were preparing for a duel.

"I'll go easy on you ok?" Aerrow said, switching on his blades.

"No need to," Zeidah smirked. She fired and arrow at Aerrow, and they were off. He dodged and blocked her arrows, trying to get a good aim on her, but she was too fast. Aerrow quickly realized this battle might actually be challenging. The thought made him even more excited to be a part of it.

Zeidah never took her eyes off of Aerrow. She watched his every move, dodging blue blasts from his blades and reloading her bow at the same time. She really wanted to win. Her life's dream was on the line, and she wasn't about to give it up. 

From where they stood on the sidelines, all Piper, Junko, Radarr and Finn could see was a blur of red, blue, and purple mixed with a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Aerrow was standing behind Zeidah with his blade to her neck.

"Checkmate," he smirked. Zeidah pushed his arm away.

"Yeah, yeah," Zeidah said. "I was just getting warmed up." Aerrow backed away, still smiling.

"You better learn how to fight faster if you ever want to become a Skyknight," he said.

"Oh, I'll show you faster!" Zeidah growled, then shot an arrow at him again.

She and Aerrow went at each other again. Aerrow took a step back, but his heel caught a rock and he tripped. He put his hands out to stop himself, dropping his blades in the process. Zeidah took the advantage.

Aerrow felt pressure on his chest. He looked up to see Zeidah with an arrow pointed between his eyes and a foot on his chest, pinning him down.

"Disarm the enemy, _then_ threaten," she said. She took her foot off of him and Aerrow sat up. He picked up his blades and Zeidah readied herself for him to attack. They lashed out at each other one more time.

"Zeidah's really good," Piper said to Finn. They both stood in awe, watching the two red-heads battle each other.

"Yeah, she's awesome," Finn said in awe. Piper gave him a look. "What?" he asked. She simply shook her head.

Zeidah tried every move she could force her body to make. She may be fast, but Aerrow was faster. After all, he had been battling real enemies and bad guys for a long time now. He had much more experience than she did. All she ever did was shoot at rocks in the desert. Zeidah knew she had to be on her toes. She figured that battling Aerrow would be hard, but not this hard. She knew she couldn't give up. If she won, she'd get to live the dream of a lifetime. But if she lost, the guilt of letting it slip through her fingers would haunt her forever.

Aerrow was much less worried than Zeidah was. He knew he would win; after all, Zeidah had only won the last round because he had tripped. He was extra cautious to watch the ground for any rocks he might trip over. He hadn't realized Zeidah would actually be a challenge to beat. He couldn't predict her next move. She was fast, she aimed well, and she was unpredictable. But, she was still only a civilian girl.

Aerrow began having second thoughts. What had Zeidah ever done to him? In the first four hours he had known her, she'd saved him from her brothers, helped him free the Skyknights of Sahar, and been extremely polite to his team. She definitely didn't mean any harm to him.

So, why did he have to harm her to get rid of her? After all, she'd only be here for a month. Sure, they may not have Junko's muscle, but it's not like Zeidah wouldn't be any help... right? She had speed and accuracy on her side.

Aerrow lowered his blades. Zeidah hesitated in releasing her next arrow. She watched him with a look of complete bewilderment as he switched off his blades.

"What're they doing?" Junko asked. Nobody answered him.

Aerrow let go of his blades. They fell to his feet with a clatter that echoed across the terra.

"What are you doing?" Zeidah asked him, lowering her bow. Aerrow shrugged and walked closer to her, close enough so that if she raised her arrow, it would be pointed directly at his chest.

"You win," he said plainly. Zeidah stared at him, half-annoyed that he'd given up, but also a little relieved that she wouldn't be burned by a Skyknight's weapons today.

"That's it?" she asked. "You're just giving up?" Aerrow picked up his blades and put them on his back.

"Hey, Sahar's only a few leagues away," he shrugged. He started back towards the _Condor_. Zeidah was in so much shock that she couldn't figure out how to move her legs.

"Aerrow, what're you doing?" Piper asked him. Aerrow looked back over his shoulder. Zeidah hadn't moved.

"Well, are you coming or not?" he called out. Zeidah smiled and ran towards him. Before Aerrow could even blink, Zeidah hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said.

"Um, you're welcome," Aerrow said, gasping for air. Zeidah quickly released her hug.

"Wait, so, you just gave up!?" Finn asked.

"No, actually, Finn, I _forfeited_. Is there a problem with that?" Aerrow asked in a smooth voice. Finn slicked back his hair again and glanced at Zeidah.

"No, no problem at all," he said quickly. Zeidah was all smiles as she approached Finn.

"You know what this means, right?" she asked. Without giving him any time to answer, she added, "I get to stay!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, too.


	6. Useful

Back on _The_ _Condor_ , the team gathered on the main deck. Piper had gone back to her maps and Aerrow was peering over her shoulder. Stork never took his hands off the steering controls, keeping his large yellow beady eyes focused ahead.

"So... how about that test-drive on my skimmer?" Finn asked, elbowing Zeidah's arm. Zeidah had been standing quietly next to the doorway, feeling awkward and out of place.

Suddenly, the warning bell went off and everyone jumped. Red lights flashed across the room. Zeidah was terrified. _What was going on? Was the ship going down? Were they being ambushed?_

"Cyclonian battleship nearby," Stork said, looking through a periscope. "They've spotted us!"

Aerrow was gone in a flash, with Radarr at his heels. Piper was already pulling out crystals, and Finn and Junko followed Aerrow to the hanger bay. Zeidah caught Finn at the doorway.

"Finn! What's going on!?" she asked, her voice full of panic. Finn could see the fear in her eyes. He didn't want to scare her.

"Stay here with Stork," he said. "Everything will be okay."

There was something about the way Finn looked at Zeidah that seemed to comfort her. He took off for the hanger bay, and Zeidah turned to Piper for directions.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked. Piper scooped up an armful of crystals from the table.

"Keep Stork calm," Piper said, and ran off to join the boys. Zeidah glanced around the deck, but the only person remaining was Stork. Stork was trembling at the controls. Off in the distance, a large red and silver ship was heading towards them.

"Stork, what do we do?" Zeidah asked. Stork pushed a button that turned off the alarm.

"Hope we don't die," Stork squeaked, gripping the handle even tighter. Zeidah stared back out the floor-to-ceiling windows. The battleship was beginning to fire. Down bellow, Zeidah saw three skimmers and a heliscooter zoom off the runway and fly towards the ship. Zeidah glanced back at the battleship to see that skimmers were now dispensing from it. She came to a startling realization: they were outnumbered and outgunned.

"Can I help somehow?" Zeidah asked anxiously. As the battleship flew closer, it began to fire at the _Condor_. Stork began his magical tricks, steering and veering the ship out of harm's way. Zeidah had to hold onto the rail to keep herself from losing her balance.

"You could get on one of those energy cannons," Stork said, pointing to the right side of the main deck. A large blaster sat in front of a closed hatch. Zeidah instantly dropped her bow and arrows on the couch and ran over, jumping in the seat. She looked at the controls in front of her on the massive cannon. They looked like the same clutch-driven-toggle switches she had heard her brothers talking about on skimmers.

"How does it work?" Zeidah asked.

"Just aim and pull the trigger! It's not that hard!" Stork explained. A blast hit the ship and Stork let out a loud "EEEEP!"

Zeidah grabbed onto the handles of the cannon with shaky fingers. The hatch opened, sending her forward onto a platform. She had a one-hundred-eighty-degree view to shoot from. The battleship was closer now; its bow was only about four hundred feet from the _Condor_. Skimmers were zooming by in every possible direction. She remembered what Stork had told her. She aimed at one of the red skimmers and pulled the trigger. The cannon shot her back in her seat and sent a large blue torpedo-like missile at the skimmer. She wasn't expecting it to have that much power.

The blast hit the joint in the skimmer's wing and it flew off. Black smoke billowed from the skimmer as it lost altitude. The driver bailed and was now floating down with his parachute open.

"I hit it!" Zeidah cried out, surprised at her triumph.

"Good!" Stork squeaked again. "But could you _please_ aim for the battleship?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I can try," Zeidah said, turning back to aim again. 

The skimmers flying around and Stork's jerky steering to avoid getting hit by the battleship's blasts made it difficult to get a good aim. Zeidah could feel her arms shaking. She was battling the Cyclonians! It was almost like she was a real Skyknight. She aimed again, this time the blast whizzed past the battleship, missing it by a few feet.

"Aww man, it was so close," she said.

"No time for criticizing!" Stork yelped. Zeidah aimed again. This time, she hit the ship.

"I got 'em!" she said. She fired again. Once again, the blast hit the ship.

"Try aiming for the engines," Stork advised. Zeidah aimed for one of the outboard engines on the ship, but suddenly the ship began to turn. It flew in the opposite direction, away from the _Condor_. The Cyclonian skimmers followed.

"That's it?" Zeidah asked. "They're just giving up?"

"That's good!" Stork corrected.

***

Minutes later, Aerrow, Piper, and Radarr appeared on the deck again. Zeidah was prepared for them to celebrate the victory, but instead they seemed all business.

"Where's Finn and Junko?" Zeidah asked.

"Junko took Finn to the hospice," Aerrow explained in a calm voice. "He got shot in the arm." Zeidah let out a gasp.

"Oh no! Is he going to be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Piper shrugged. "But he's got a nasty burn." An idea popped into Zeidah's mind.

"I'll be right back," she said, and took off down the hallway. She tried to remember where Finn had pointed out the medicine room. When she found it, she also found Finn sitting on the bed, clutching his upper arm and whimpering. When he looked up and saw Zeidah there, he blushed and sat up straighter.

"Is everything okay?" Zeidah asked. Junko spun around with gauze in one hand and medical tape in the other.

"Just a blast," Junko said.

"Mind if I help?" Zeidah asked, walking in the room. "You know, I'm pretty good at mending injuries."

"Sure, just don't touch it," Finn said quickly, his voice cracking. Zeidah walked over in front of him.

"You're going to have to move your hand," Zeidah said. Finn whimpered a bit, but he removed his hand from his arm. A hole had been burned in his sleeve and his skin was blistered and red.

"Ooh, that's a pretty bad burn," Zeidah said. She put her thumb and index finger to her chin. "Hmm, it'll be easy to fix, though. Junko, could you go see if Piper has any icers or blizzard crystals?"

"Sure thing," Junko said, and disappeared out of sight. Finn pressed his hand back to his wound. Zeidah looked horrified. 

"No, you've got to let the air get to it," she said. "I know it stings, but trust me; it helps." Finn looked reluctant, but he took his hand off the burn. Junko soon returned with an ice-blue crystal.

"Piper wanted me back on the deck, guys," he said. With that, he disappeared again. Zeidah picked up a towel and placed it against Finn's arm. He winced and tried to recoil from the cold.

"I know it hurts," Zeidah said. She pressed the crystal up against the towel.

"It doesn't... hurt that much," Finn said. He cleared his throat and added, "How did you learn medical stuff?"

"My parents are both doctors," she said. "They know a lot about injuries and sickness." Zeidah took the crystal off his arm. His wound was no longer red, but now a faint pink.

"It'll heal completely in a few days," she told him. Finn rotated his shoulder.

"Thanks a lot," he said, looking up at her. Zeidah blushed.

"No problem," she shrugged. She smiled at Finn and he smiled back. She noticed his eyes were deep blue, like the color of sapphires. They were such a bold color that Zeidah was entranced by Finn's eyes. It took both of them to realize they'd been staring at each other. They glanced away, their cheeks reddening.

"Uh, well, we better get, go, um, go to the deck," Finn said, scratching the back of his neck. Zeidah blushed again.

***

When dinner came along, Zeidah helped by making a spicy Saharian rice dish. Everyone was impressed by her cooking. It was definitely more appealing than Junko's exotic seafood, especially since it usually came raw and alive. Finn admitted to liking it more than Piper's spaghetti she made on special occasions.

After dinner, Stork and Junko were on kitchen duty, so Finn showed Zeidah some more of the ship.

"So, did you guys ever go to Sahar for the Great Race?" Zeidah asked as they ventured out onto the balcony. Out past the clouds, the sun was just beginning to set. Rays of orange, blue, and purple were streaking across the sky.

"Yeah, we go there every year," Finn said, resting his arms on the balcony ledge.

"My parent's won't let me watch the race," Zeidah explained. "They say it's too dangerous."

"Well, it can be," Finn said. "People crash a lot. And there's a lot of cheating." He recalled when he had smuggled a power amp and other parts from Skyknights in order to help Aerrow win the race. As he retold the story, Zeidah laughed along with him. After Finn finished his story, he pointed out the changing colors in the sky ahead of them.

"The sunset is so beautiful," she said. "It's not like this on Sahar. The sun always disappears behind the mountains. But out here...it just seems like there is no end."

"Yeah, I guess it's different wherever you go," Finn said. He stared out at the sky, watching the sun disappear behind the clouds. He and Zeidah were both silent for awhile.

"Hey, Finn," Zeidah asked. "Do you do this every night? I mean, watch the sun go down."

"Sometimes," Finn shrugged. "But, most of the time, I'm just too tired or I've got chores to do."

"Could we do this every night?" Zeidah asked. Finn smiled and looked over at Zeidah.

"Sure," he said.


	7. Dreams and Wakeup Calls

After the sun went down, Finn and Zeidah returned back inside to the main deck.

"Zeidah, you'll be sleeping in the bunk next to my room," Piper announced when Finn and Zeidah returned. "We already made a bed for you."

"Oh, thanks," Zeidah said. She turned to Finn. "Well, goodnight Finn."

"Goodnight," he said, smiling. He expected her to hug him, but instead, Zeidah followed Piper to her room. Finn blushed pink and Stork gave him a look. Piper led their new member to a room with purple walls and a horizontal gold stripe across the middle.

"I hope you don't mind purple," she said. "We painted it for Starling, but she's never spent the night, so it'll be all yours for awhile." Zeidah smiled as she examined the room around her.

"It's perfect. Thank you."

"I'm right next door, so if you need anything, just knock," Piper said. "Goodnight, Zeidah."

"Goodnight, Piper."

Zeidah had toruble sleeping that night, She kept opening her eyes, just to make sure the room around her hadn't disappeared. She still couldn't believe that day's events had been real, and she definitely didn't want this day to end, but eventually she fell asleep to the humming of the _Condor's_ motors.

***

That night, Aerrow dreamed he was flying through the sky on his skimmer. Without warning, something flashed by him and cut the wings off his skimmer. He turned around to grab Radarr as they began falling, but he wasn't there. It was like he had vanished. Aerrow abandoned his skimmer and went for the trigger to open up his hang glider, but it wasn't there, either. He was falling through the sky with nothing to stop his fall--no terras, no other skimmers or airships--nothing but clouds.

Suddenly, lightning struck nearby. Aerrow heard the Dark Ace laughing, but he wasn't in sight. He kept falling through the endless sky.

"Aerrow!" Piper's voice echoed nearby. He glanced around him, but she wasn't there.

"Piper!" he cried out. "Help me!"

"Aerrow!" she said again. He voice grew louder.

"AERROW!"

Suddenly, Aerrow wasn't falling anymore. He gasped for air as he fell back onto his bed. He looked up with terrified eyes to see Piper leaning over him with her hands on his shoulders. Aerrow was panting and could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

"Are you okay?" Piper whispered, trying to look him in the eyes as he glanced around his room to make sure nothing dangerous was around. She loosened her grip on his shoulders. Aerrow sat up and ran a hand across his chest to smooth his shirt. His skin was clammy under his shirt. He crossed his legs and shrugged.

"Just a bad dream. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You were acting pretty strange when I came in here."

"What do you mean?"

"You were writhing all over the bed. I had to hold you down. It was kind of scary."

Aerrow realized his mouth was open and he closed it. He looked up at Piper. Her dark-blue hair was curling around her neck and over her shoulder like a dark blue waterfall. He could see her face clearly from the moonlight shining through the window. Her eyes sparkled like the stars in the stratosphere. Aerrow wanted to pull her closer and hold her in his arms. No one made him feel safer than Piper did, and she did give the best hugs.

Piper looked at Aerrow like she expected him to say something. But at that moment, Aerrow had forgotten about his nightmare and focused all his attention on her.

"Uh, um..." he stuttered. "I'll be ok." Piper reached over and held Aerrow's hand. It felt different without their gloves on. Piper's skin was warm and soft. Aerrow didn't want her to let go.

"I don't want to leave you alone in case the dream comes back," Piper said. "It's happened to me before." Aerrow remembered waking up in the middle of the night to Piper's screams because Cyclonis had gotten into her head again. He couldn't sleep those nights, either; he was so worried about her.

"Sleep with me tonight," Aerrow offered with a small grin. "There's enough room in my bed for both of us. We'll have a sleepover, just like old times." He quickly extended his legs and moved over to let Piper lie next to him. She pulled her hands up to her chest and faced Aerrow. Aerrow pulled the covers over both of them and Piper squirmed a bit, trying to get closer to him. Nights on the _Condor_ were always cold.

Aerrow wanted to put his arms around her and hold her to his chest, but he was afraid she would be uncomfortable with it. Instead, he curled up next to Piper and tried to fall asleep. He didn't want to close his eyes and lose sight of her, but eventually his eyelids won over, and Aerrow fell into a deep nightmare-free sleep.

He awoke before Piper did. He laid there anxiously waiting for her to wake up. His muscles demanded he stretched them, but instead he stayed still, waiting for Piper to wake up. Sunlight shone through the window above Aerrow's bed, making Piper's skin almost look like it was glowing. She had one hand under her cheek, wedged between her head and the pillow. The other hand was draped across the mattress, dangerously close to Aerrow's wrist, like at one point in the night she had been holding onto it. Aerrow smiled as he studied her face. He didn't want her to wake up and destroy this peaceful moment, yet he couldn't wait to see her fiery eyes. Aerrow moved his leg, accidentally bumping his knee against Piper's shin. Piper began to stir. She scrunched up her face and stretched her arm out, but it didn't get very far because her hand touched Aerrow's chest. Piper relaxed her face and opened her eyes. She looked a little surprised to see him there, but Aerrow could tell she wasn't upset by it. She smiled and reached her arm towards the ceiling.

"Good morning," Aerrow whispered. He smiled back at Piper.

"Good morning," She replied softly. She pulled her hand down and held it in a fist to her chest. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Aerrow said. "A lot better than before." Piper smiled again and tucked a piece of her midnight-blue hair behind her ear.

They lay for a few more minutes, staring at each other, without saying a word. Aerrow studied Piper's face again. Her skin looked so much brighter in the sunlight. Her facial features were small and warm, but her eyes were full of fire. 

When Aerrow looked at her lips, he had the sudden urge to lean in and kiss her. He wondered how it would feel. _Why was I wanting this?_ Aerrow scolded himself in his head. _Piper's my friend. Why does it feel different when she's around?_ Whenever Piper and Aerrow were alone, he felt like his insides were melting, but in a comforting way. He always had the urge to touch her--hold her hand or brush past her shoulder. He didn't know why.

Aerrow wrapped his hand around Piper's fist at her chest. Piper relaxed her hand. Aerrow pulled her closer to him so that their nightshirts brushed against each other and the tips of their noses were practically touching. Aerrow glanced down at Piper's lips again, then back up at her eyes. He looked back and forth from her lips to her eyes, then back to her lips.

How easy it was just to lean in and...

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!" The warning siren went off out in the hall. It startled Aerrow so much that he fell out of bed and onto the floor with a heavy thump.

"I guess it's time for breakfast," Aerrow joked with a shrug. Piper looked down at him and giggled.

 _Okay,_ Aerrow thought. _So that didn't go as planned._


	8. The Best Teacher

"About time you woke up," Finn said when Aerrow walked into the kitchen.

"Glad to see you've become an early riser, Finn," Aerrow grinned.

"Wait, what?"

"Hey, did Junko leave already?" Aerrow asked.

"No, he's in the hanger bay getting his skimmer ready."

"Did Stork set course for Terra Wallop?"

"Yeah yeah, we've got it all covered," Finn said. He took a bite from an apple and then continued with his mouth full. "Ya know, I don't know what I'll do without Junko around."

"Looks like you'll have to make some new friends," Aerrow said. Zeidah timidly poked her head around the corner of the doorway.

"That won't be hard," Finn said, raising his eyebrows at Zeidah. Aerrow turned to see her at the doorway.

"Morning, Zeidah," he said as she entered the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, pretty well," she said. "I still can't believe this is real."

"Well, you better get used to it," Finn said. "You're stuck here now." He let out an awkward laugh, but no one laughed with him.

"Hey, Finn," Aerrow perked up. "Why don't you give Zeidah a flying lesson today? You know, if you're going to be a member of a Skyknight squadron, you have to know how to fly a skimmer." Zeidah seemed to shake with fear as she glanced over at Finn. He smiled his clean teeth at her.

"Don't worry, we'll start slow," he said. "C'mon."

"Uh, shouldn't we have breakfast first?" Zeidah suggested.

"Oh, right," Finn said, blushing. 

***

Aerrow joined his carrier pilot by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the main deck. Stork hardly slept; in fact, Aerrow wasn't sure if he spent any time in his bed at all. He was convinced Stork slept on the couch out on the main deck.

"What was that warning signal for this morning?" he asked. Stork switched on the auto pilot.

"You guys always sleep in so late," Stork said. "You never know what could attack early in the morning. You're always getting on us about being prepared, so I thought I'd try out my own practice drill."

"Yeah...thanks for that," Aerrow said. His voice lacked appreciation.

"Seriously man, those Nightcrawlers come out of nowhere," Stork mumbled.

After breakfast, Finn led Zeidah out to the hanger bay. He pushed the big red button on the wall with his fist and the doors screeched open.

"Where ya going, Finn?" Junko asked from behind his skimmer.

"I'm giving our new member here her first flying lesson," he said, cupping Zeidah on the shoulder.

"Oh," Junko said. He sounded lonely.

"What's up, Buddy?" Finn asked.

"Nothing," Junko said, setting his wrench down. "I just.... I'm really gonna miss you guys." Instantly the large creature had his best friend in a death-grip hug and was bawling like a baby.

"Junko...buddy...can't...breathe," Finn gasped.

"Oops! Sorry," Junko said, releasing his hold. When Finn caught his breath, he turned his attention to Zeidah.

"Alrighty then. Welcome to your first flying lesson. Techniques will be taught by me, your teacher, Finn." Finn pointed to himself and smiled widely.

"He's your teacher!?" Junko asked. He tried to stifle a laugh. Zeidah giggled, and Finn gave Junko a look.

"Now, the first thing you've gotta know about flying a skimmer is balance," Finn continued.

"No, that's not the first thing you gotta know," Junko butted in.

"Excuse me, but who is doing the teaching here?" Finn asked. He mounted his skimmer and grabbed hold of the controls. "If you lean to far one way, your ride will go with you and you'll end up going in circles. "See, these handles are how you steer. If you pull on the left one, you'll go left. If you pull on the right one, you'll go right." Finn demonstrated for Zeidah, showing how his front wheel turned. "It works the same in the air, too. This trigger is for braking, this one opens up the wings, you turn the handle to revv it up and go faster, and this button's for firing, but you don't really need to know that yet." Finn smiled at Zeidah again. "Ready to take it for a spin?"

"Uh, how about if I just go as a passenger first?"

"Sure, um, I guess so. Climb on." 

"Please don't go really fast like Aerrow does," Zeidah said.

"Don't worry," Finn replied. "Like I said, we're keeping it slow." He started up his skimmer. "Although, I'm gonna need to go fast down the runway, so hold on!" 

Zeidah clamped her arms around Finn as he shot off down the runway. When they zoomed off the end, Zeidah squealed. Finn had already opened his wings and they were gaining altitude.

"Oh, this is high!" Zeidah said, looking down. Below them was nothing but a blanket of golden clouds.

"Don't look down, look ahead. You'll never know what's coming," Finn instructed. 

Zeidah did as she was told, glancing over Finn's shoulder. Ahead, there was nothing but blue sky and puffy clouds. They were traveling through a quadrant where the weather was regularly pleasant. Zeidah scanned the horizon, but there was absolutely nothing.

"It's just like being on the edge of a terra!" Zeidah exclaimed.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Except you're moving." He made the skimmer turn and headed for the _Condor_.

"Are we going back already?" Zeidah asked.

"Of course not," Finn said. "You better hold on!" Finn dove down bellow one of the _Condor's_ gigantic pontoons and circled around the ship. Zeidah screamed in fear, but the adrenalin running through her veins was from pure excitement.

"What's that over there?" Zeidah asked, pointing at a terra far in front of the ship.

"That's Terra Wallop," Finn replied. "It's Junko's home terra."

"I've read about it before, but it looks so different in real life," Zeidah said.

"That's the other cool thing about skimmers. They get you places you've never seen before."

Finn and Zeidah made their landing back on the _Condor_ to find Aerrow, Piper, Stork, and Radarr had joined Junko.

"How'd it go?" Aerrow asked as Finn wheeled his skimmer back to his spot.

"It was so amazing!" Zeidah explained. "I couldn't believe how high we were!"

"I told Stork not to land," Junko said as he started up his skimmer. "I don't want you guys getting into trouble, so...this is goodbye, for awhile."

"Wallops don't trust outsiders," Piper whispered to Zeidah.

After everyone had exchanged hugs with Junko and said their goodbyes, the Storm Hawks and Zeidah watched their favorite wallop fly off to his home. He'd be back in a month, but until then, they'd have to train Zeidah to be useful.

"Well, we're down one member, but we gained another," Aerrow began when everyone gather on the main deck after lunch. "However, our replacement isn't trained. She doesn't have Junko's muscle, but she has other talents that we can work with."

Zeidah blushed and glanced at the ground. 

"So," Aerrow continued. "If she wants to be a part of this squadron, she's going to have to learn a few tricks out of our book. Finn, I want you to continue giving Zeidah flying lessons until she can fly a skimmer by herself. Piper, you can help her out with navigation skills and crystals. I'll teach her how to fight."

"And I'll tell her how to avoid most fatal diseases," Stork said. Everyone gave him a strange look. "What? I shouldn't be the only one on the ship who knows how to check for mindworms."

"Okay...Stork will handle deadly germs," Aerrow said. He turned his attention to Zeidah. "We'll have you turned into a squadron member in no time."

***

As Aerrow strolled down the hall later that afternoon, he heard something clang to the floor, and Piper curse inside her room. Aerrow poked his head in the doorway to see Piper spread-eagled on her ceiling.

"Piper, are you ok?" Aerrow asked, wondering why she was stuck to the ceiling...or how she even got up there in the first place.

"I dropped a floater on my foot and it went off," Piper explained, trying to push off of the ceiling. She just floated back up like a balloon filled with helium. Aerrow saw the blueish-purple crystal hovering close to the ground.

"Uh, do ya need any help?" Aerrow asked with a smirk. Piper pointed to a rectangular green crystal on the table.

"Use the blocking crystal on the floater," Piper said. "It should cancel it out." Aerrow picked up the green crystal and held it up to the floater. Instantly the floater stopped glowing and fell to the floor with a small tink. Piper instantly started falling.

"Ah!" she screamed, but instead of landing onto the floor, she found herself landing in Aerrow's arms. _Wow_ , she thought. _He's so fast._

"Gotcha," Aerrow grinned. Piper giggled as he set her on the floor.

"Thanks," she said, straightening out her tunic.

"You just know how to fix every situation, don't you?" Aerrow said. Piper picked up the crystals on the floor and set them back on her table.

"Not everything," she said. "But close."

"And that's why I love having you as part of the team," Aerrow said with a hand on her shoulder. As Aerrow left the room, Piper stared after him, trying to comprehend the butterflies that had started fluttering around in her chest. She knew it had only been a compliment, but still, he hadn't just said he liked having her on the team. He'd said he _loved_ having her. What did that mean?


	9. That Was Subtle

The next four days, the Storm Hawks trained Zeidah to become a squadron member. Aerrow taught her to fight without any weapons, and showed her how to disarm an opponent. Pretty soon, Aerrow was returning from the hanger bay with multiple bruises and a proud grin on his face. Piper showed Zeidah many different combinations of crystals and their uses, although she proved to already know most of them because of her parent's work in healing. Stork was busy sharing his hundreds of strange repellents with Zeidah. But no matter how hard he tried, Finn couldn't get Zeidah to go out on a skimmer on her own.

"Come on Zeidah, just do what I told you," Finn coaxed.

"I'm fine riding behind you."

"You can't be a passenger all the time."

"Yes, I can; I can cover your back."

"Why are you so scared to fly alone!?" Finn asked, raising his voice. Zeidah glanced down at the ground.

"It's just... heights."

"Oh." Finn wasn't sure how to console someone who was afraid of something he looked past every day. He wouldn't get the chance, because the red emergency light on the wall started flashing, and the alarm sounded. Panic filled Zeidah's body, but Finn was all business.

"We're under attack!" he cried out as he ran over to grab his crossbow from the wall. Zeidah retrieved her bow and quiver from the wall where everyone hung their weapons. In seconds, Aerrow, Radarr, and Piper were in the hanger bay, jumping on their skyrides and taking off. Finn was about to follow, when Zeidah called out, "Finn, wait!"

"What?" he asked. Zeidah ran over and jumped on the back of his skimmer. "What're you doing?"

"Covering your butt," Zeidah said. "Go!" 

Finn didn't ask any questions; instead, he took off down the runway and into the sky. Ahead of them, a swarm of talons were heading straight for them. Zeidah felt the fear coming on strong again, but she swung one leg around the seat of the skimmer and turned around so she was back-to-back with Finn.

"You better not fall off," Finn called over his shoulder.

"You better not get shot," Zeidah said. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and loaded her bow. A talon zoomed by, and Zeidah let her arrow go, snagging a wing on the talon's skimmer.

"I got him!" she said.

"Hold on," Finn cried. Zeidah gripped the back of the seat as Finn did a barrel-roll to avoid getting hit. Zeidah continued to shoot the talons that flew behind Finn's skimmer. Aerrow had taught her to overcome some of her fears about fighting and just focus on hitting a certain target. As it turned out, his advice was actually helping her, especially when she heard a blast go off and saw the red glow heading straight for the skimmer.

"Look out!" In one quick motion, she spun around, reached her hand over Finn's on one of the controls and yanked up, sending the skimmer into a tailspin to avoid the blast. As the skimmer spun, Zeidah aimed and shot an arrow at the talon that had shot them. The arrow hit right in the center of the Skimmer's motor.

"How did you..." Finn began, looking over his shoulder in amazement.

"I don't know," Zeidah shrugged. Her eye caught a talon and she gasped, but Finn quickly aimed and shot him out of the sky. The two of them continued fighting, and the talons retreated quickly afterwords.

"Well, that was easy," Aerrow said once he landed back on the Condor. He wiped his hands together and then put them on his hips.

"Did you see that?" Finn said after he landed. "Did you see what she did!?"

"What?" Piper asked.

"Zeidah spun my skimmer," Finn explained. "And then she shot a talon _while_ _the skimmer was spinning_!"

"Wow," Piper exclaimed.

"I know, right?" Finn laughed. "It was awesome."

"Nice work, Storm Hawk," Aerrow said with a smile. Zeidah couldn't help but beam.

***

Later that night, Aerrow found Zeidah alone on the bridge.

"Hey," he said, announcing his presence.

"Hi," Zeidah said. She looked back up at the night sky.

"That was some awesome fighting today."

"Thanks." Aerrow took a step closer. He could hear the apathy in Zeidah's voice.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just deep in thought."

"I find myself doing that a lot too. Stork thinks it's bad for my head." Aerrow grinned as he tapped his temple. "He thinks I've got mind worms." Zeidah smiled.

"Is that like his thing?" Zeidah asked. "Diagnosing diseases?"

"Eh, you could say so," Aerrow said.

"Maybe he should've been a doctor instead," Zeidah said.

"I think he likes being a carrier pilot," Aerrow said. "He's kind of attached to _the_ _Condor_."

"I thought it was your ship," Zeidah said.

"Not really; it's all of the Storm Hawks' ship," Aerrow said. He scratched the back of his neck. "But, you know me. Since when have I ever followed the rules?" Zeidah smiled again.

"Have you ever thought of being anything other than a Skyknight?" she asked. Aerrow looked up at the stars and shrugged.

"Nope. When I was little, I used to dream of being a Skyknight. When me, Finn, and Piper were in the orphanage, all we talked about was breaking out and becoming a squadron."

"I wish my family had a Skyknight," Zeidah said. "My parents are healers." Zeidah shrugged. "I'm happy, though."

"What about your brothers?" Aerrow asked.

"They're mechanics," Zeidah explained. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Nah, it was just me," Aerrow said. "I did have someone who I think was probably like an older brother to me, but..." Aerrow trailed off and turned his face to the sky.

"But what?" Zeidah asked. Aerrow was silent.

"Well, he kinda messed things up...and killed my father's whole squadron and joined Cyclonia," he finally said.

"Wait, are you saying that....the Dark Ace...you guys were friends?"

"I think so. The Guardians told me I was the last descendant of the last Storm Hawks Skyknight. That means he was probably my dad, and he was friends with the Dark Ace, so...it makes sense he knew me as a kid, too."

"Too young to remember, huh?"

"I guess so," Aerrow said with a shrug. He grinned quickly and added, "Hey, have a good night, and don't spend too much time with your head in the stars." In a blink, he was gone.

***

The next morning, after breakfast, Zeidah found Aerrow, Piper, and Starling on the main deck.

"Hey guys, what's the battle plan for today?" Zeidah said. Everyone turned their attention away from the map they were studying and on her.

"There's no battle plan today, Zeidah," Piper said.

"I'm doing some recon with Starling today," Aerrow explained. "Piper's just helping us out. You guys can take the day off."

"Did I just hear what I think I did?" said Finn, appearing next to Zeidah. "Are you seriously letting us have a day off?"

"Well, to a certain extent," Aerrow said.

"Tropica!" Finn cried out. He dashed back to his room and retrieved his surfboard.

"Piper's in charge," Aerrow said when Finn quickly returned. "So whatever she says goes."

"Ooh, can we go to Terra Neon, Piper?" Zeidah asked. "I've always wanted to go there."

"You've never been there?" Finn asked. Zeidah shook her head. Finn was in so much shock that he dropped his surfboard. "You mean you've never had Terra Neon's famous flamecorn?"

"No," Zeidah said. "I've never left Sahar." Finn just about fainted.

"Stork, head to Terra Neon. We need to get this girl some flamecorn!"

"Wait a minute, Finn," Piper said. "I'm in charge, remember? That means the person giving out orders is _me_. If you have a request, you have to run it by _me_ , first."

"Don't worry, Piper," Stork said over his shoulder. "Like I would ever take orders from _him_." Finn stuck out his tongue at Stork when he turned around, and Zeidah giggled.

"Can we go to Neon Piper? Please?" Zeidah asked. Piper smiled.

"I don't see why not," she said. "Stork?"

"I'm on it," Stork grumbled. Finn disappeared to put his surfboard back.

"Well, we're off," Aerrow said. Radarr climbed up on his shoulder. "Radio us wherever you guys go. We'll meet you there for lunch." Aerrow, Radarr, and Starling left the room. Piper watched Aerrow go.

"How long?" Zeidah asked. Piper glanced over at her.

"How long will they be?" she asked for clarification.

"No, how long have you loved him?"

"What!? Wha--who--what are you talking about?" Piper stuttered her face quickly turned the color of red Saharian sunset. Zeidah grinned, satisfied she'd discovered the navigator's secret.

"Piper, it's obvious," Zeidah said. "You always smile when you see him, you're always staring after him when he leaves, and you blush when he smiles at you." Piper felt her face get even hotter.

"Oh, no way. He's my best friend. I care about him a lot, that's all."

"Everyone on the ship knows except for him."

"They do?" Piper said. She wondered how many times Finn and Junko had talked about them behind their backs.

"You've got to tell him how you feel," Zeidah encouraged.

"No, I can't do that," Piper said. "It would ruin our friendship and it would interfere with our work. Besides...he's got his eyes on Starling all the time. They make more sense, anyways, being Skyknights and all."

"I bet he'll come around; just give him a reason."

"Like what? Starling is a brave, independent Skyknight. I'm just..."

"A brilliant crystal mage and navigator?" Zeidah said. "And you're his best friend."

"Still, it just...it wouldn't work out."

"You don't know until you try."

Just then, Finn returned from his room and announced, "If we're going to Neon, Zeidah has to ride the new rollercoaster."

"Uh, I thought we talked about the whole _going really fast through the air_ thing, Finn," Zeidah said. Finn put his arm around her shoulders.

"Aw, it'll be fine," he started as his voice echoed down the hallway. Piper rolled up her map and went to get another. As she studied the area around Terra Neon, her mind drifted off to what Zeidah had said. Did everyone on the ship really think she had a crush on Aerrow? And if so, why didn't Aerrow know about it? Surely Finn would've told him. Piper felt her cheeks warm up again. It was embarrassing to think that she was so obvious.

"Hey Stork," Piper said out of the blue.

"Yeah?" he replied from his spot in front of the controls.

"Do you think I...have you noticed anything strange about how I act around Aerrow?"

"Yes," Stork said. Piper felt her heart skip a beat. "You always act goofy, like you're infected with Mulvarian brainworms. It's not healthy, Piper. You should seriously get your head checked out." Piper sighed and turned her attention back to her map. Of course Stork would answer with something more dramatic and pessimistic than what the situation actually was. However, Stork was also pretty honest when it came to serious situations, so she felt comfortable confiding in him.

"Stork, you don't think I...like him, do you?" Piper asked. Stork switched to auto pilot and joined Piper across the table.

"Okay, look," Stork said. "I'm not the one to ask about girl talk. I'm not a girl, in case you haven't noticed. But if it means anything, you sometimes act like those girls in my poetry books. The ones that're hopelessly in love." Stork returned to his controls.

Piper felt her body freeze. _Hopelessly in love? Am I really that obvious?_

"I hate those poems," Stork added, but Piper hadn't heard him.

_Why hasn't Aerrow noticed yet?_


	10. How Romantic

Aerrow and Starling flew on to Terra Tundras. The sky was clear, and the sun warmed their faces as they soared through the clouds. Aerrow glanced over at Starling as she flew nearby. He watched her purple hair as it fluttered behind her like pixie wings. Aerrow grinned a bit. He loved spending time with Starling. She was beautiful, she was fearless, and she was the best Skyknight he knew. If only he could get her to join his squadron for real. He knew she'd never give up her Skyknighthood, though.

When they landed on the terra, the two Skyknights found a lookout spot and set to work. Aerrow kept his peepers focused on a large crater in a valley. In the crater, large red cranes moved large amounts of raw crystals.

"Why do you think the Cyclonians came back?" Aerrow asked Starling as she wrote some shorthand in her notebook.

"They probably discovered a new purpose for crystals," Starling explained to her partner. "Or, they could have discovered a new crystal. Cyclonis would want as much of it for herself." She looked through her own pair of peepers.

"It looks to me like it's all just raw crystals," Aerrow said.

"Yes, could be, but we don't know for sure."

"Should we snag some for Piper?"

"I'd rather not," Starling said. "There isn't enough cover on this terra for a sneak attack. If we got caught, it would be about fifty-to-two."

"So? We've taken down that many before," Aerrow said. Starling smirked at him as she shook her head.

"Yes, but we don't know anything about this crystal," Starling said. "It could be very dangerous. You wouldn't want to put Piper in danger, would you?" Aerrow didn't answer. He and Starling both knew the answer. Piper was his first friend he ever made. He never wanted to put her in harm's way.

Suddenly, there was a commotion and some conversations down in the crater. Aerrow and Starling both focused their peepers on the group of Cyclonians.

"They made us out," Starling said, gathering up her supplies. "It's time to go." Aerrow heard the whizzing of a crystal blast behind him.

"Starling, look out!" Aerrow cried, pushing his ally out of the way. They landed behind the boulder they'd been hiding behind, with Starling face-up in the dirt and Aerrow on top. Aerrow turned his head, only to bump noses with Starling.

"Sorry," Aerrow said, quickly getting up and offering Starling a hand. Now was not the time for his face to get so warm.

"It's not your fault," Starling said. The two of them dashed to their skimmers and took off. Ten Cyclonians were right on their tails.

"Ready?" Aerrow said.

"Too easy," Starling scoffed. The Skyknights swooped and fired at the talons, quickly taking out three of them. As the Talons fired back, Starling used it to her advantage in a classic Skyknight move of making the talons chase her from different directions, and causing one of the Talons to shoot down one of their own. Aerrow zoomed by a talon, clipping a wing with his blue glowing sword. It was five-to-two now, an easy battle for Starling and Aerrow. Together, they quickly took out the remaining talons and shot off into the sky.

"Nothing like a little Talon butt-kicking in the morning, Aerrow said, Leaning back in his seat. Starling smiled at him. "I'm starving. Who's up for lunch?"

***

When Aerrow and Starling landed on Terra Neon, they found Stork first. The Merb was taller than most of the crowd and easy to spot, even though he was leaning against a light post and buried in the latest issue of _The Atmosian Word_ , a magazine that featured artists, writers, poets, and more.

"Don't ask me where Finn is," Stork said, slightly lowering his magazine. In barely a mutter, he added, "Honestly, I could not care less." 

They saw Piper admiring the prizes on the carnival game using a ball to knock down three bottles. Aerrow snuck up behind her and held his blade to the back of her neck.

"Excuse me ma'am, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Aerrow said in a low voice. Piper jumped and spun around.

"Aerrow!" she said in a scolding tone. "Don't scare me like that!" Aerrow laughed. Radarr suddenly appeared, his face covered in sticky cloud candy. He could recognize his Skyknight's laugh from miles away.

"Hey buddy. Looks like you've been having fun," Aerrow said, smiling down at his companion. He looked back up at Piper, who began to blush. He quickly shifted his gaze to the life-size stuffed animals hanging around the stand, then reached into his pocket and pulled out some money.

"Two please," he said, setting the money down on the table. He turned to Piper. "Are you playing with me?"

"No, I'm not very good at it," Piper said. "I don't have a good aim." The vendor behind the counter gave Aerrow six white rubber balls.

"Starling? You up for it?" Aerrow asked, offering her one of the balls.

"No, I'm afraid I have to leave you," Starling said, glancing at her skimmer. The red light on the dashboard was blinking. "It was nice spending time with you Aerrow. I always appreciate your help." Piper glanced at Starling as she walked away and back to Aerrow, who was watching her go.

"Well," Aerrow said, turning to Piper. "Sure you don't want to play?" Piper sighed and took the balls from Aerrow.

"You're going down," she said with a smirk. She aimed for her pyramid of bottles and missed. The second time, she hit one on the bottom, also knocking down the one on the top. But the third time, her ball grazed the bottle on the top of the pyramid, causing it to teeter over. Aerrow, on the other hand, had gotten two bottles down his first two throws.

"This game is harder than it looks," he said, scratching his head. He glanced at Piper and smirked. "Ok, this is for the Dark Ace," he said. He pointed at the three bottles. "See those bottles? That's his head. And this ball is my fist." Aerrow took a step back and pitched the ball at the three bottles. The ball smashed into the bottles, knocking them off the table. Piper giggled and gave him applause.

"You did it!" Piper said. Aerrow picked out a pink plush bunny as his prize.

"I did it for you," Aerrow said, handing her the stuffed animal. Piper's smile faded.

"Oh. Thank you."

"If the Dark Ace ever gets near you, I'll just get a few rubber balls and chuck them at his face," Aerrow said. Piper giggled as they began walking down the street. When they passed a rollercoaster, Aerrow nudged Piper with his shoulder.

"Let's go on that," he said with a wide grin.

"Let's," Piper said. Aerrow grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the line. When it was their turn, Aerrow picked the seats in the very front. The pulled down the lap bar and Piper clutched her rabbit close.

"Here," Aerrow said, holding out his hands. "Let me hold it so you can hold on." Piper sat the rabbit on her lap and put it's legs through her belt.

"I've got it," she said. The ride took off, and soon they were zooming across the tracks through the air. Aerrow's adrenalin wasn't quiet as high as when he flew. Maybe it was because the coaster wasn't as fast as his skimmer. Maybe it was because he was strapped in. Beside him, however, Piper screamed, gripping the bar like she'd fall off if she let go. Her excitement was enough to make him laugh and scream along with her.

When the ride stopped, Piper let out a breath that turned into a laugh.

"That was so much fun!" she said. 

Aerrow offered her his hand as she stepped out. The two of them continued walking down the street, stopping to play a few games or go on rides. Eventually, they found Finn and Zeidah at the flamecorn stand.

"Hey, guys!" Zeidah said, waving. Finn shoved some flamecorn in his mouth and waved as well.

"Having fun?" Aerrow asked. Finn nodded then swallowed his food.

"Dude, they have a new ride here," Finn said. "You stand up and they strap you in, and then it goes around and around really fast. And then it turns on its side while it's _still spinning_! It was so fast, I almost puked." He shoved more flamecorn in his mouth and Zeidah giggled at him.

"You should've seen him," she said. "He could barely stand up when he got off." Aerrow and Piper both laughed. "Have you guys been on the Ferris Wheel yet?"

"No, we haven't made it there yet," Aerrow said.

"Hey, we haven't either," Finn said.

"Why don't we all go together?" Zeidah said. "The sun's about to go down. It'll be so romantic." she held Finn's arm and laid her head on his shoulder. Aerrow and Piper exchanged a glance.

_Romantic?_

On the Ferris Wheel, Aerrow and Piper took one car, and Finn and Zeidah took the one behind them. As they rose into the sky, the sun was slowly doing the opposite, sinking behind the clouds. The sky turned beautiful shades of purple and pink. The Ferris Wheel turned a few times, until it slowly stopped. Finn and Zeidah were at the very top, looking over the terra with the colorful neon skyline. Aerrow and Piper were slightly lower on the ride.

"What a perfect way to end the day," Aerrow said, leaning back in his seat and stretched his arms across the back. Piper glanced over at him and smiled.

"How did your mission with Starling go?" Piper asked.

"It was pretty good," Aerrow said. "We think the Cyclonians are mining some kind of new crystal."

"Really?" Piper said. "We should try to grab some before Cyclonis can."

"I think it's too late," Aerrow said. "The talons chased us off before we could get a good look."

"Oh," Piper said. She glanced out over the city, watching the lights blink and flash. Aerrow noticed the space between him and Piper; it was almost wide enough the fit a whole person. Instead, it was occupied by a pink fluffy plush. Aerrow picked up the stuffed animal and slid over next to Piper. Piper looked over with a puzzled expression.

"I, uh," Aerrow stuttered. The breeze ruffled his hair. "Are you cold?" Piper blushed.

"A little," she said. Aerrow put his arm around her shoulders. Piper laid her head in his shoulder. Aerrow glanced down at Piper, who looked back up at him. Once again, they were close.

_So close._

_How easy it could've been just to lean in and..._

Suddenly the Ferris Wheel jolted, throwing Aerrow and Piper forward in their seats. They glanced back at each other as the wheel began to move. Aerrow slowly slid back to his seat on the other side of the bench.

_That could've gone better._

_***_

Zeidah glanced over just as Finn caught her eye. He gave her that winning smile that showed off his teeth and made his deep blue eyes sparkle. Zeidah could feel her face getting warm.

"The sunset is so beautiful," she said, trying to direct attention away from her flushed face. The sun had turned a vibrant shade of orange, beginning to paint the sky with shades of pink and purple.

"So are you," Finn said. Zeidah saw his face turning pink. "I mean, uh, the sky's... not... blue." Zeidah giggled.

"You're really funny," Zeidah said, smiling at him. 

Finn smiled back. The two of them stared at each other's eyes. They hadn't even realized they'd been leaning closer until their noses bumped. Zeidah giggled, but neither of them leaned back. Zeidah leaned in closer, gently brushing her lips against Finn's. Goosebumps rose all over both teen's skin as sparks of excitement flowed through their veins.

After what felt like a whole minute, Zeidah let go of Finn and opened her eyes too look at him. Finn stared back and saw the same shock in Zeidah's dark green eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Zeidah babbled.

"Wow," Finn gasped.

Zeidah smiled a little as her face turned the same shade of red as her hair. Finn leaned over and grabbed the back of her neck. "Come here," he smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is getting pretty cheesy. Time to switch things up a bit.


	11. Brain Pudding

After the Ferris Wheel ride, the group met up with Stork and Radarr, and grabbed some cotton candy. Finn and Zeidah couldn't control their smiles as they sat giggling with their heads together on a bench. Aerrow and Piper sat on either side of Stork on another bench, trying to keep a causal conversation going with their carrier pilot as Radarr stole pieces of Aerrow's cotton candy.

***

That night, Radarr was the only one who fell asleep peacefully. Zeidah kept biting her lip as she closed her eyes, reliving her kiss with Finn over and over again. It was her first kiss, and it gave her a feeling more amazing than any other she'd ever felt. She'd met the youngest Skyknight Atmos. She'd become part of a squadron. And now, she'd kissed the sharp-shooter.

***

Finn lay awake in his bed, smiling up at the ceiling. His skin was still tingling with the feeling of when Zeidah had kissed him. He'd never met a girl that actually liked him for who he was (not just for being a Domo). He didn't know what it was about her, but he made her smile. Everything about Zeidah surprised him. She was an amazing shooter, a great doctor, and a fantastic cook. She was beautiful, she was spunky, and she was a fighter. Finn couldn't explain everything, but he had a feeling. He had that feeling that he was falling for her.

And he had absolutely no problem with it.

***

Piper stared at the metal wall next to her bed. All she could think about was Aerrow. He flirted with her. He won a prize for her. He promised to fight the Dark Ace for her with some carnival props. Then, she thought of the Ferris Wheel, and how he'd stuttered when he'd looked at her. He offered to keep her warm. He didn't even mention Starling's name. For once, it was all about Aerrow and Piper.

He'd almost kissed her.

***

Aerrow tossed from either shoulder in his bed, thinking about all the events of the day. The Cyclonians were mining a new crystal. He wanted so badly to know what it did, and how to stop them. All he wanted to do was take down the Cyclonians to impress Starling. To him, it was like she didn't get the hint. What more did he have to do to make her get it?

Then, there was Piper. What happened to him today? It was like his brain melted into pudding every time they made eye contact or she smiled. She was his best friend, but she didn't make him feel relaxed today. In fact, she'd made him feel pretty weird. It was his pudding brain that made him think it was a good idea to kiss her, and he's almost done it, too. He had so much fun spending time with her that it felt like the right thing to do at the time. He hated his pudding brain. He was a Skyknight; his senses needed to be sharp all the time. He couldn't be caught off-guard by a girl, even if she was just his friend.

***

"I'm off to do some recon with Starling," Aerrow announced a few days later. "I won't be gone long." Piper did her best to hide her jealousy.

"Why don't I go with you?" she offered. "After all, I am the best at recon."

"No, it'll be too many people." 

He proceeded towards the door, but Piper stepped in his way.

"Then, why don't I go instead?" she asked, sounding way too peppy to be serious.

"Starling asked _me_ to go," Aerrow said, trying to keep his voice calm. The pudding brain was starting to melt, and he wasn't about to start giggling in front of Piper again. "Now can you move, please?"

"Aerrow, stop leaving me behind."

"Someone has to make sure Finn doesn't—"

"I'M NOT FINN'S BABYSITTER!" Piper yelled. Aerrow flinched; he'd never heard her raise her voice like that at him before. "I'm part of your team, a team you should be trusting more."

"But I do trust you," he said, his voice soft. Piper put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Do you? Seems to me like all you care about is Starling."

"It's not like that," Aerrow said as he rolled his eyes.

"Not like what?"

"Piper, just let it go," Aerrow said, turning towards the hanger bay. He rolled his skimmer to the edge of the runway. He didn't bother looking back. He knew he'd just done something horrible to his friend, but he couldn't take it back. It was too late for him to apologize.

Stupid pudding brain.

***

"Is everything alright?" Starling asked Aerrow. They had met up near Terra Amazonia, and now they were on their way there. Starling could tell Aerrow was frustrated about something by the wistful look in his eyes. He had only smiled when he had said "hello" to Starling earlier that day. After that, his gaze was focused completely on the sky ahead of them.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, looking down at the speedometer on his skimmer. It read fifty six ticks per hour, close to a skimmer's average cruising speed.

"Are you sure?"

Aerrow looked over at Starling. She rode so close to him that their wings might clip each other. Since they were both skilled fliers, there was little possibility their wings would catch each other. Since she was so close, it was easy for Aerrow to study Starling's face. He noticed the way her eyebrows furrowed, making her beautiful green eyes narrow at the inside corners. Aerrow could see the worry in her eyes. He sighed and returned his eyes back to the sky ahead of him.

"Things are tense," he said, unsure how to word things. He didn't want to lie to Starling, but he wasn't sure he could figure out the right words to say.

"Oh dear... squadron trouble?" Starling guessed.

"It's just Piper. I don't know what's up with her. She gets so upset when I go on missions with you."

"Maybe she's just a little stressed lately," Starling suggested as they landed on the soft lush grass of Terra Amazonia. "You have been leaving her in charge, right? Maybe she's just being overworked."

"No, she's fine, she can handle it," Aerrow assured her as they hid their skimmers in the dense bushes nearby. "She's pretty strong. Honestly, I think she's jealous. She's always wanted to go on a mission with you."

"Really?" Starling asked. "Maybe next time I do recon I'll take her."

"But...don't you like doing recon with me?" Aerrow quickly added. They hid behind some bushes and Starling pulled out her peepers. Far off in the distance, a group of Cyclonians were huddled together.

"Of course. I'm grateful you have my back."

"Well, that's just it. She doesn't understand that all I'm doing is helping you. I mean, it's not like you don't like having me around."

"Of course I don't mind having you around," Starling said, removing her peepers to look at him. Aerrow blushed and smiled a goofy smile. "But, Piper is part of your squadron. You should always put your squadron first. They're the only family you've got."

"I always put them first," Aerrow said. "I rely on them for everything." Starling looked at Aerrow with a look of shame.

"Maybe, because you're with me, they can't rely on you." Aerrow glanced at the ground. The truth had hit him like a rock in the chest. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he really had been letting his team down.

"Piper's always getting in my business," Aerrow said, changing the subject. "Especially if it's business with you. She's always jealous when I'm with you."

"Aerrow," Starling hissed.

"It's not like I'm being mean to her; I gave her my prize on Terra Neon."

"Aerrow!" Starling whispered, throwing her hand over his mouth. "Be quiet or they'll hear us."

"Sorry," Aerrow said, his voice muffled by Starling's hand. Starling took her hand off Aerrow's mouth and returned to surveying the Cyclonian group.

"Uh, so... what's it look like they're up to?" Aerrow asked.

"Dunno," Starling said. "They're just standing around talking. They don't even have anything with them. No crates, no nothing."

"Sounds to me like they met up to have a chat," Aerrow said.

"That's probably all it is," Starling sighed. She lowered her peepers. "Oh well. No use sticking around then." She stood up and started back towards her skimmer. Aerrow scurried after her.

"Going somewhere?" a voice said behind them. About seven or eight Talons were standing behind them. Starling was ready. She whipped out her nun chucks and attacked the Talons. Aerrow switched on his blades and wasn't far after her. In only a matter of minutes, the two of them managed to knock out all the Talons.

"Well that was easy," Aerrow said when they were back at their skimmers. The two of them took off. "That was so awesome though. You, I mean. You just jumped out there and, _bam!_ "

"Aerrow, I do that all the time," Starling said in a concerned voice. "You do, too."

"I know; it was just really cool."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Starling asked. "It was only a recon mission—"

"Yeah, but it had action!"

"Aerrow, you sound like your friend, Zeidah," Starling pointed out. Aerrow stared at her and smiled. She gave him a puzzled look. "What're you staring at?" Aerrow suddenly blushed the color of his hair.

"What!? Oh," he said with a voice crack. "I just, uh... you... you look... you're kind of... pretty... you know," he stammered.

"Aerrow, what're you—"

"I had a lot of fun today," Aerrow said. "We should do another mission like this."

"No," Starling said. Aerrow looked like she had just slapped him across the face.

"No?" he said quietly. He pulled his skimmer to a halt. Starling stopped as well.

"Aerrow, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm not..."

"Are you busy?"

"No. I'm not...I don't like you like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't do relationships. Especially with other Skyknights."

"Why not?" Aerrow asked, sounding like a five-year-old.

"Look, Aerrow, we're only friends; that's how I view us. We're allies and nothing more." Aerrow's disappointment had hit rock bottom.

"But..."

"I'm so sorry I had to disappoint you this way, but it's better for both of us if we remain friends," Starling said softly. Aerrow looked back down at the speedometer on his skimmer. It read zero, just like his hopefulness.

***

The door to the hangar bay slid open, and a gust of wind and a skimmer whooshed inside. The wijnd and the noise startled Piper as she studied a map in a book. The wind blew her pages and she lost her spot, but she'd have to be annoyed about that later. Aerrow stood on the other side with an expression of pure disappointment. Piper had never seen him this depressed, even after he'd failed to defeat the Dark Ace. He was still determined then. Now, the determination was gone.

"What happened? Is Starling okay?" Piper asked. Aerrow didn't look at her. He just swatted her hand off his shoulder and turned away.

"She's fine, leave me alone," he said, heading for his room. Piper followed after him.

"What's with the sad look?"

"It's none of your business."

"Why can't you tell me?" Aerrow stopped walking and whipped around to face her.

"Did you not hear me? It's none of your business, Piper," Aerrow said angrily as he glared at her. He kept walking, and Piper followed after him.

"Okay, fine, if you say so, but we are a team, and we can help—"

"I don't want your help. What I want is to be left alone." Aerrow snapped. Stork had appeared in the hallway, but he heard Aerrow's tone and pivoted around, quickly stalking in the opposite direction. Piper took the opportunity to grab Aerrow by the arm and pull him so he had to face her.

"Why can't you trust me anymore!?" Piper said in voice that almost sounded desperate. "Aerrow, the Storm Hawks are your family. Why are you choosing Starling over us? Over me?"

Aerrow glanced at the ground, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to answer Piper. He didn't even want to look at her. He just wanted to be alone. He didn't even notice Piper's saddened expression.

Piper lowered her voice. "Was Terra Neon just a joke to you?"

Aerrow caught that familiar feeling of his brain turning into pudding. The last thing he needed right now was to start acting like a dork again. He yanked his arm out of her grip.

"Just leave me alone," he mumbled. He turned and walked to his room, leaving Piper in the hallway with tears forming in her eyes.


	12. Playing Games

The next morning, Aerrow found Piper in the kitchen. She stood in front of the toaster in her pastel blue pajamas. She was wearing matching slippers, and her hair was billowing down her back like a dark blue waterfall. Aerrow caught his breath in his throat, then coughed to clear it.

"Making toast?" Aerrow asked. Piper turned around to him. She didn't smile like she usually would. Instead, her expression was blank. Aerrow felt as if she had shot a dagger through his chest. There was no brain pudding this time.

"Do you want some?" she asked softly. She wanted so badly to still be angry with him, but after not speaking for a whole afternoon and night, it seemed long enough to call a truce.

"Uh, yeah," Aerrow said, leaning against the counter. Piper took a second piece of bread out of the bag and put it in the toaster, then pushed the button down. Aerrow glanced at the ground, then occupied himself by grabbing a glass from the pantry. He could feel Piper watching him. He held the glass in his hand, hesitant as his palms started to sweat.

"I'm sorry. For yesterday. I shouldn't have said those words I said."

"I'm sorry too," Piper said. "I shouldn't have exploded on you. I was jealous because of all the time you were spending with Starling." Aerrow walked over to the fridge and poured orange juice in his glass.

"I guess I was doing a lot with her," Aerrow said to his glass of juice. "It's just that she's all by herself. I wanted be a good friend to her." Aerrow screwed the lid back onto the juice, just as Radarr came into the kitchen and helped himself to a box of cereal.

"You were," Piper said. "But, we're your squadron. We need you, too. I need you." Aerrow had been reaching for his glass of juice, but he flinched and knocked over his glass. Sticky orange liquid spilled over the side of the counter and onto the floor.

"Gah!" he gasped, jumping away. He grabbed a dish towel and got down on his hands and knees. He was glad the island cabinets blocked Piper's view of him, because his face was turning scarlet.

The next thing he knew, Piper was on the ground with him, cleaning up the mess. Aerrow bumped his head into Piper's and jumped back.

"Sorry," he mumbled as the door opened, and in walked a yawning redhead with an extreme case of bed head. Zeidah walked over to the fridge, but stopped when she saw Aerrow and Piper on the ground. She blinked a few times, not completely awake yet.

"What're you guys doin' down there?" she asked in a slow voice.

"Cleaning," Aerrow replied. He and Piper finished cleaning up the juice and stood up together. The toaster popped, and both Aerrow and Piper flinched. Meanwhile, Zeidah helped herself to Radarr's cereal box.

"What's up with you two?" Zeidah asked.

"What're you talking about?" Aerrow asked.

"You're so confusing. One second you two are flirting like boyfriend and girlfriend, and the next thing I know you're not talking to each other. Why don't you just figure each other out?" Both Aerrow and Piper blushed crimson. They glanced at each other with puzzled expressions.

"Zeidah, it's not like that," Piper began.

"Yeah, we're just—"

Whatever," Zeidah said, cutting Aerrow off. "All I'm saying is stop leading each other on. It's getting annoying." With that, she took her cereal bowl and left. Aerrow and Piper glanced at each other again.

"Um," Aerrow said.

"I have to go map out—"

"Yeah."

Aerrow and Piper left the kitchen to get ready for their day. Aerrow changed out of his pajamas and sneaked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. His hair was sticking up in a thousand different directions. He tried running his fingers through it, but gave up, leaving it to the wind to deal with. He joined Stork on the main deck.

"Hey Stork," he said, cuffing Stork's shoulder. "How's it look today?" Stork jumped a little, but he didn't glare. He'd grown to expect surprise visits from his teammates.

"Clear skies," he said. In a depressing voice he added, "for now." He stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows. Aerrow looked too. Sure enough, the pastel-blue morning sky was adorned with white puffy clouds.

Piper walked in and unrolled one of her maps. After studying it for a few minutes, she pointed to an area on the map.

"Aerrow, there's been Cyclonian sightings in this region," she said. Aerrow walked over and studied the map with her. Piper drew a circle with her finger.

"That's right by the Tundras," Aerrow said.

"Do you think it has anything to do with that new crystal?" Piper asked. Aerrow crossed his arms.

"There's only one way to find out," Aerrow said.

"Lemme guess," said a voice from the door. Finn walked into the room and lounged across the couch. "We're canceling the trip to Tropica so we can go stop the Talons."

"We never had plans to go to Tropica," Piper said. Zeidah appeared in the doorway.

"Did somebody say Tropica!?" she asked. "I've always wanted to go."

"We aren't going," Finn said. "Apparently fighting the talons is more important."

"Yes it's more important," Piper explained. "We're a Skyknight squadron, Finn, in case you forgot. It's kind of our job." She raised an eyebrow.

"She's right, Finn, it is our duty," Aerrow added. Finn rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine," he said. "Let's just get it over with quick. The waves don't wait all day."

"Stork, set a course," Aerrow instructed. "Finn, you and Zeidah get our skyrides ready. Today, we're kicking some Cyclonian tail." Finn followed Zeidah off to the hanger bay unenthusiastically. "Piper, do you have a start of a plan yet?"

"I don't think we'll need one," Piper said. "We're not doing any stealth work; it's just a battle."

"Oh, right," Aerrow said. "Well, uh, I'm gonna go find Radarr."

***

Aerrow, Finn, and Piper mounted their skyrides, ready to fight. The huge metal doors opened to reveal the long runway ahead of them and a bright sky. Aerrow revved up his skimmer and let it go, zooming down the runway with Radarr at his side and Finn and Piper on his tail. Up ahead, two large red ships were headed straight for the _Condor_.

"Ready Radarr?" Aerrow asked his co-pilot over his shoulder. Radarr gave him an optimistic chirp.

Talons began to swarm in the sky like a colony of bees. Aerrow steered his skimmer towards a talon, firing a blue blast from his sword at the engine. Finn aimed for the talons, easily taking down three. Piper was able to deflect blasts with her staff, and fired some blasts back. Aerrow didn't have much time to worry about his friends, because soon his worst fear was hovering in the air with a large glowing red sword.

"Looks like we meet again," The Dark Ace sneered. Aerrow tried attacking him with his blades, but the Dark Ace steered out of the way. "Playing games again? I'll play." He jumped of of his skimmer and pinned Aerrow against his dashboard. "I hope you remember the rules."

"I live, I win, right?" Aerrow said, trying to push Dark Ace off of him.

"I never lose," Dark Ace growled, jumping back on his skimmer.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Aerrow grinned. The two leaders charged for each other in the air, dancing around like a choreographed sword fight.

"Uh, Aerrow, we got a problem," Aerrow heard Finn's voice coming from his radio.

"I've got some other things to take care of, Finn," Aerrow grunted, thrashing his sword at the Dark Ace.

"It's more than just talons here," Finn said. "Master Cyclonis is here, too!" Aerrow glanced around him in the sky until he saw the deep purple skimmer chasing Piper. He spun his skimmer around and flew after her.

"Not playing chicken again, are we Aerrow?" Dark Ace called after him.

"Oh, I'm not finished with you yet," Aerrow muttered under his breath. Cyclonis was firing at Piper, chasing her back to the _Condor_. When they landed, Aerrow was right behind her.

"What're you doing here, Cyclonis?"Aerrow demanded. 

Cyclonis turned to Aerrow. Before she could respond, and arrow from the hanger bay knocked her off her feet. Zeidah stood in front of the doorway with her bow poised, ready to fire. Piper was right next to her, staff raised and ready for a fight.

Cyclonis shot a bright green blast from her staff at Aerrow, throwing him backwards towards the edge of the runway. Aerrow slid off the end, but reached out just in time to grab onto the ledge and pull himself back up. When he swung himself back up, Radarr was unconscious, laying on the ground next to Aerrow's skimmer. Zeidah had been knocked down as well. Piper was now fighting Cyclonis.

As Aerrow was raised his blades, something shot him in the back, launching him forward onto the runway. His chin hit the metal runway first, and everything went black.


End file.
